Yes Two Tamed Centres of Power Can Hold

The unpleasant truth be told, the draft constitution will be passed or defeated on the singular issue of competing executive powers between the president and PM. Pretending otherwise is to live a national lie. All the other magnificent clauses will either fall in place or be buried together with the explosive executive power.

The real paradox lies in the hidden acknowledgement from CoEs that all our woes are traceable to imperial presidency while also creating a check in the office of the PM. Well, we know the king size egos of politicians and we only leave such an ambiguity to their so called well-meaning and statesmanship interpretations at our collective peril.

We know the tattered constitution owes its stench not from its print or spirit but wanton abuse by the previous three presidents. While Jomo betrayed all the basic tenets of nationalism at independence, Moi fitted smartly in his predecessor’s ruinous shoes to drive Kenya down the destructive slope. As for Kibaki his love for the nostalgic 1960s left him no time to measure up to Kenyans’ expectation of him following 2002 elections. But all that is water under the bridge.

The present political circumstances though self-inflicted offers us the best opportunity to reclaim Kenya and free ourselves from the evil grip of these selfish politicians. Granted the draft is not perfect, if not a lazy pretence at intellectualism that merely grafted the controversial executive clause to hitherto comprehensive Bomas and divisive Kilifi drafts.

American constitution is often quoted for posterity because while POTUS remains the most powerful person standing on planet earth, he is comprehensively checked by senate and other arms of government. We cannot afford the expensive luxury of leaving the ego of a president and a PM enslave and strangle Kenya forever.

The spirit of CoE’s draft lies in its latent acceptance that we are a nation exclusively led by competing tribal lords. Majority of Kenyans owe their loyalty first to their tribe and country second. The proposed regional governments are nothing but an academic nomenclature of that truism.

So are we ready for both an executive president and PM? Well, while the present proposal was singularly informed by the nasty experience of a suffocating presidency, we MUST tame competing egos with stringent laws that leaves the scoundrels no room to hold Kenya at ransom again, NEVER.

True, majority of Kenyans only read for exams in addition to text messages. But this time we must roll up our sleeves, open our eyes, read the draft and make our opinions count.

And who knows, we could trail blaze uncharted waters of governance. But while at it WATERTIGHT remains the key.

The Paradox of Devolution and Nationalism

Kenyans are poring into the draft constitution starting from the top. They have collectively identified the cancer of unchecked powers exclusively resident at State House which they want tamed. On the same frequency they abhor reserving the weighty task of choosing PM to selfish politicians.

The CoE would kill many birds with the same stone by amending that clause to indicate that the PM will be the leader of the party with majority MPs. That single provision will sound the death knell of briefcase parties while promoting policy-based parties. What is more, voters will vote with be priori knowledge of whom their prospective PM would be. That will minimize political wheeler dealing and arm twisting.

That said the prospect of two centres of power MUST be addressed if the present inertia and tension is to be eradicated. Instead of narrowing power sharing to two offices, the executive authority is better best executed from one office with empowered independent institutions as watchdogs. Independent institutions rather than gullible MPs are a safer bet to objectivity and continuity devoid of electoral tensions.

While Kenyans rightfully remain fixated to the proposed two centres of power, chapter two of the draft constitution is a study in paradox per excellence. First the chapter spells out devolution which captures the hitherto loathed majimbo in all but name.

With devolution come deserved superlatives like sovereignty of the people and supremacy of the constitution itself. The three layers of governance is just too costly for a poor country like Kenya. But again, the CoE must have been alive to our ethnic loyalties and regional disparities.

The draft declares that the governments at the various levels will be distinct and interdependent. Then comes the rider that the same governments must conduct their mutual relations on the basis of consultation and cooperation. That paradox must be clearly spelt out to avoid any regional conflicts that will inevitably impact on the national fabric.

Also chapter two of the draft hits a masterstroke by reducing national holidays to three: Madaraka, Mashujaa and Jamhuri days. Makes sense if only they would do away with the obsession to specific dates and instead opt for days of the week (e.g first Monday of June ....) to avoid disruption of economic activities.

But this structuring and reduction of holidays is a first step to kill deity and destructive sycophancy that saw previous presidents patent Kenya in their own names. Besides disabusing previous imperialists of personalized rule, this is a recognition of all who selfishly contributed in different ways to liberating Kenya.

In a nutshell, while all are tackling the draft head first, the document provides us with the best opportunity to RECLAIM Kenya for ourselves and the future generation. We must not allow the pettiness of the present politicians to take us back to MISRI. The first generation leaders failed big time to steer Kenya to her right heights and we are paying the painful consequences.

Let us seize this unique moment to retrace our steps and redefine the glorious Kenya for posterity. We owe it to ourselves and the future generation.