NAIROBI, Aug 23 (HANA)--Kenya’s awaited proposed new constitution which critics say leaves too much power in the presidency was finally unveiled here Tuesday by the country’s legal adviser.
If Kenyans pass the document in the November referendum, this will the first new constitution since Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963.
Speaking during a news conference, Attorney-General Amos Wako said the proposed constitution is a document born of the draft constitution of Kenya 2004, which was adopted by the National Constitution Conference at Bomas in March last year.
Wako said in drafting the proposed constitution he incorporated the recommendations by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the review of the constitution on contentious issues, which was approved by parliament last month.
“The proposed new constitution of Kenya has now been published and has now come out. The proposed constitution is based on the Bomas draft which was the basic document during the drafting of the proposed new constitution,” Wako told reporters.
He said the publication of the Bill will pave the way for a referendum at which Kenyans will vote to adopt or reject the new document.
The Attorney General however urged Kenyans to first take time to read the contents of the proposed constitution and understand it before making any judgment.
He said every Kenyan has a right to exercise his or her inherent right to vote for or against a new constitution.
“It was a very tedious task which we took very seriously,” he said.
“The making of a new constitution of any country is not easy but what is important is that the people exercise their inherent right to have or reject the constitution. This is the right that is invested in the citizens of Kenya,” said Wako.
“Kenyans must be enabled to know and understand the contents of the proposed new constitution before the exercise at the referendum which would be held later this year,” he said.
CKRC chairperson Abida Aroni said she was happy with the A-G assurance that he relied on the Bomas draft as the basis of the proposed new document and promised to embark on a civic education within ten days.
“I wish to urge Kenyans to read the proposed new constitution before making decisions based on substance devoid of propaganda and misinformation that is all over the place,” Aroni said.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Kiraitu Murungi commended the Attorney General for working round the clock to beat the Wednesday’s deadline to produce the document.
“Today is a great day for Kenya. We wish to congratulate the AG and his team for working round the clock for the last 20 days or so to produce a new constitution for this country. We know it was time consuming that required a lot of energy,” Murungi said.
Analysts say more protests are expected as the proposed constitution will be voted on by all Kenyans in a national referendum slated fro this November.
Critics say the A-G incorporated the amendments introduced by parliament last month into the new constitution and which are aimed at ensuring that most executive power rests with the presidency.
During the acrimonious parliamentary debate in July, four ministers allied to one section of the ruling coalition broke ranks with the government to vote against the report that drastically altered the initial draft of the National Constitutional Conference in Nairobi (Bomas Draft) finalized last year.
Their party, opposition and civil society groups staged street battles to reject the recommendations of the PSC and demanded that Parliament passes the Bomas draft.
The government called the vote a landmark in the east African nation’s efforts to change the constitution for the first time since independence from Britain in 1963.
But the opposition said the protests showed many Kenyans were against the draft constitution.
Findings of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) showed that Kenyans wished a system whereby powers would be shared between the president and a prime minister to minimize abuse of power.
Under the current constitution, drawn before independence from Britain in 1963, the president enjoys unlimited powers.
The activists argued that parliament, which debated the constitution in parliament last month, had also usurped the people’s right to determine their future.
They said Parliament has no constitutional right to write a new constitution and that only representatives of the population selected for that specific purpose, and the people - through a referendum - have the right to form a new constitution.
Many Kenyans see a new constitution as a key instrument to root out decades of corruption and mismanagement.
At the constitution conference last year, most of the 629 delegates voted to trim presidential powers against the government's wishes, proposing the creation of a prime minister's post after the next elections in 2007.
Those closest to the current incumbent, President Mwai Kibaki say creating a powerful prime minister in competition with the president would be 'both nonsensical and dangerous'.
Kenyans have become passionately attached to the constitutional process during the course of three tumultuous years.
President Mwai Kibaki was elected in 2002, partly on a promise to reduce the president's powers within 100 days but opposition protesters accuse him of being unwilling to give up his powers.
The new government replaced that of Daniel arap Moi's Kanu party which was blamed for instituting a culture of corruption and dictatorship that had crippled Kenya's economic development and stunted Kenya's political life for almost four decades.
But after elected into office, many Kenyans accuse Kibaki of failing to live up to his promise of using the new constitution to trim his powers and set up a prime minister's post to take over some of his duties.
Kibaki supported the post in opposition, but has since backtracked on the idea of another centre of power cannot exist during his rule.
The issue has divided the ruling coalition with observers saying the government’s intention to reduce prime ministerial powers provided for in the new constitution will not succeed at the referendum
The government has repeatedly promised that the country's 40-year old constitution, which dates back to independence from Britain, will be replaced by December.
Analysts say the disagreements over the draft document are so intense that the target date is unlikely to be met going with the pending court cases.
Analysts also say the U-turn after coming to power has reinforced the increasingly widespread perception of Kibaki and his inner circle as a nest of power freaks as bad as those under former president Moi.
They say the consequences of this dispute for Kibaki and the coalition could be serious. Enditem
