We must protect Constitution from mutilation by Executive

The 2010 Constitution provides for two routes to its amendment – a parliamentary and a popular initiative. Any proposals to amend the Constitution emanating from any of the three arms of the government must go through the parliamentary route, while a people’s initiative as the name denotes must originate from the people and be driven by the people.

The BBI constitutional proposals originate from and are driven by the Executive, using State machinery and public resources. This is illegal and unconstitutional.

We the people must rise and reject this blatant attempt to by the State to subvert the constitution by usurping the people’s window for amending it and worse still, by silencing the people voices in these ill-conceived amendments.

The amendments are ill-timed given the challenges facing the country. Article 43 obligates the government to provide basic needs to the vulnerable namely, access to quality health services, water and sanitation, education, adequate housing, and food among others.

It is, therefore, the government’s duty to obey the dictates of the constitution and give the people access to health during the pandemic and beyond and to shoulder the cost of testing and treatment.

Unfortunately, this has not been evident in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The cash transfers to the elderly are inadequate in that they do not cover all in need, and the unemployed.

The referendum drive is thus being prioritised while the government neglects matters of life, death and livelihoods. The government is employed by the people to attend to their needs, and not to the whims of those in leadership.

Imperial President

The 2010 constitution gives power to the people. It is we the people, who donate power to the Executive, Parliament, and the Judiciary. The proposed BBI constitutional amendments seek to flip this by introducing an imperial President who is not accountable to the people.

A President who appoints and fires ministers, assistant ministers, as well as principal secretaries. A President who can overrule Parliament and hire a Prime Minister of his choice, a President whose hand is not only in parliament through the ministers and assistant ministers, but also in the Judiciary through the ombudsman who will be his appointee, and who sits in the JSC.

 The judiciary ombudsman will literally be a powerful government inspector menacingly towering over the JSC and the Judiciary as a whole.

While a Youth Council and a Constitutional Health Commission are good proposals, having them without commitment by government to fully implement the constitution to address access to quality health services by all; welfare issues of health workers, and the shrinking job market for our youth, these proposed institutions will not of themselves cure the ills bedeviling these two sectors.

Without political will to take on corruption head on, the scarce resources needed to implement the constitution and make our aspirations for quality health services a reality will come to naught.

Addressing corruption

Equally, without addressing corruption, our economy will not create the jobs our youth so desperately need. The BBI proposals are but baits to deceive the masses to support it. In a nutshell, nothing in the BBI proposals is superior to what the constitution already offers.

Article 27 proclaims equality of women, men, and indeed of all persons. While the proposal to have equal numbers of women and men in the Senate, and to fulfil the gender rule in the National Assembly is in line with our aspirations in the 2010 constitution, it should not blind us to the unconstitutional glass ceiling set by these proposals.

No mechanism is put in place for gender inclusivity in five top positions namely, president, deputy president, prime minister and two deputies, or the positions of county governors and their deputies.

In the context of these illegalities and misgivings, I urge all Kenyans of goodwill to read between the lines and reject the BBI machinations of using an illegal and unconstitutional route to unwittingly return us to the dark days. 

If we accept these ill-conceived, ill-timed, and unconstitutional BBI amendments, we will have facilitated a major claw back on the gains in the 2010 constitution and emboldened the executive to continue violating it.

We shall have opened the doors to the ‘magufulification’ of our country to the detriment of future generations. The solution lies in protecting and implementing the current constitution in full. This is our civic duty. Tulinde Katiba!