Lobby groups push for consensus on new law

Civil society groups on Sunday urged President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to ensure that an agreement is reached on the thorny issues hindering the realisation of a new constitution.

The National Civil Society Congress (NCSC) asked the two leaders to compel members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on constitution to iron out the most contentious issue of where executive power is vested.

“The President and Mr Odinga must end this deadlock by agreeing on one system,” said NCSC leader Morris Odhiambo at a press conference.

This comes in the wake of a Parliamentary Select Committee retreat scheduled to start on Sunday. Vice chairman Ababu Namwamba said there was ‘real determination’ amongst the 27 member committee that ‘they will get things right’.

“This constitution is not for an individual or political parties. We must remember that it is for all Kenyans,” he told journalists in Nairobi recently. “Therefore, as we head to Naivasha with all the optimism that white smoke will billow at the end of it all, we must keep an open mind,” he added.

According to Mr Odhiambo, a consensus within the existing framework will be achieved if one side of the political divide backs down so that one system of government is supported. These remarks were made as it emerged that the two leaders – President Kibaki and Mr Odinga – had moved away from their individual party positions.

He said the emergent system must have sufficient checks and balances to guard against abuse of power by the chief executive – be it the president or the prime minister. “Kenyans should also not be misled that the current system is presidential. It is not,” he claimed.

“Under no circumstance will Kenyans accept to be governed under the current centralised system,” he said, adding that structures as the provincial administration only served to intimidate and coerce citizens.

Mr Odinga is reported to have indicated that he does not mind the hybrid, purely parliamentary or presidential systems, as long as they are designed to unite the country. But the committee of experts on the constitution presented a harmonised draft to the PSC that proposes the hybrid system, where the President shares his executive powers with the prime minister.

And in a paid up advert in the Sunday Nation, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said the constitution should state clearly where executive power rested, in the same way it did with the legislative and judicial authorities.

“Such power should rest in one office to avoid ambiguities,” the statement read. It further stated that the terms government and state had not been clearly defined in the current draft. “The hybrid system as proposed in the draft constitution exhibits potential for leadership conflicts and contestations likely to affect, stall, and undermine service delivery,” KNCHR said.

They therefore proposed that executive power be vested in the chief executive of the country elected by universal and direct suffrage. “While this remains a contentious issue as the experts noted in their report, it is important that a lot of work goes into consensus building.”

But if such options failed, the human rights’ lobby said the law had to be amended to provide for two drafts under the common tag – Yes Yes – to secure a new constitution for the nation. “We propose that necessary legislative amendments be undertaken to allow two drafts to be presented to the public.”

In one draft will be a presidential system, and the other parliamentary, with necessary checks and balances. “This option would ensure that Kenyans have a constitution at the end of the process, with an executive structure preferable to the majority.”