Lobby seeks one million signatures in campaign to change Constitution
Prof Patrick Lumumba (right) and Green Thinking Action party leader Isaac Kalua address journalists in Karen, Nairobi, yesterday.
A political lobby has launched a campaign to amend the Constitution. The group believes that the time is ripe to revisit certain provisions of the Constitution that they consider critical to the nation's progress.
The lobby says it is aiming to collect one million signatures; a milestone that, once reached, would trigger a popular initiative to change the Constitution.
Citizen participation
Speaking at a press conference, the group’s leaders, former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission director Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba and Mr Isaac Kalua Green, emphasised the importance of citizen participation in shaping the country's governance structure.
“A Constitution is a foundation that needs to take the nation to a higher level,” Mr Kalua said.
Mr Lumumba said it was time to initiate a people’s initiative to amend our Constitution as outlined in Article 257.
“We are taking this conversation to the public so that our proposals can benefit from the diverse ideas and perspectives of our fellow citizens," he said.
According to Mr Lumumba, the aim of the lobby is to educate the people of Kenya about the need to initiate a public debate to consider a constitutional change.
The group believes that certain aspects of the Constitution need to be reconsidered, more so representation, legislative structure and the performance of the executive.
The group has now put forward a number of areas for constitutional change, including leadership and integrity, the fight against corruption, national elections, especially the voting system. It also wants a review on the structure of the legislature, including a comprehensive review of its composition and powers.
“On representation, we would like to see a re-evaluation of mechanisms to ensure diverse and equitable representation. On the structure of the national executive, an assessment of the functioning and balance of power within the executive should be reviewed, “ it said, adding that, on devolution, the focus should be on identifying and addressing potential shortcomings in the devolved system.
"We believe that there are things that have undermined devolution. We cannot argue with devolution, we just need to make it better.”
People-driven
“We have seen the creation of the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary which is not in the Constitution. That tells you that it is time to amend the Constitution," Mr Lumumba said.
He said that, unlike the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), the new process will be people-driven and not funded by taxpayers' money. The lobby has aligned its efforts with the ongoing national dialogue, Mr Lumumba said.
“As we speak to you, there is a national dialogue going on. It is indeed a cliché that if people don't dialogue, democracy dies," the group said.
