Pledge to deliver new law

• President and PM pledge commitment to a new constitution.
• Kibaki says that the new document “will be one of the greatest gifts that my Government will bequeath to the people of Kenya.”
• Says political differences derailed the consensus building process, leading to the rejection of new constitution in the 2005 referendum.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have declared their commitment to a new constitution.

They told an international conference on constitutional democracy in Africa on Wednesday that the country had been promised a new constitution for too long.

“When we signed a peace accord after the post-election crisis we pledged to ensure the country got a new constitution ... I and President Kibaki are determined to fulfil the promise,” Mr Odinga said at Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

Move with speed

The PM said the post-election violence that left more than 1,000 people dead and 350,000 displaced dictates that we “move with speed and give the country a new constitution.”

He said the conference would enrich the constitutional review.

President Kibaki, who was the guest of honour, said: “I want to once again assure fellow Kenyans that I am fully committed to a new constitution.”

He said the new document “will be one of the greatest gifts that my Government will bequeath to the people of Kenya.”

“I therefore view the conclusion of our country’s constitution-making as a pivotal collective objective that will entrench the freedom and openness that has begun to define our homeland,” he stated.

Political differences, he said, derailed the consensus building process, leading to the rejection of new constitution in the 2005 referendum.

“Despite this setback, Kenyans have shown both resilience and determination in the quest for a new constitutional order, and indeed a new Kenya. As leaders we have resolved to work together across party lines to complete the process,” President Kibaki said.

He said the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2008 and the Constitution of Kenya Review Bill, 2008 would establish the organs of constitutional review necessary to complete the process.

“I look forward to the passage of these laws,” he said.

Saying Kenya was now a freer, more democratic and open society, the President added that institutions were taking root and a system of ensuring resources reach the grassroots was in place.

The President said ministers were exercising their constitutional and legal duties freely.