How Uhuru, Ruto tried to water down integrity law in Naivasha

On January 18, 2010, Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba made probably one of his most eloquent speeches never published.

Addressing the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution in Naivasha, Mr Namwamba drew from the history of the writing of the American constitution to underline the magnitude of the job at hand.

Quoting inspirational leaders like Patrick Henry and John Adams during the writing of the US constitution in 1787, Mr Namwamba appealed to the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) members’ sense of patriotism, selflessness and compromise as they embarked on a similar task.

The youthful ODM MP ended with the words of Mr Nelson Mandela when he walked out of the Robben Island prison:

“He told the people of South Africa: ‘Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can choose to be that generation.’

“It has fallen on the 27 members of this committee to break the jinx of giving this country a new constitution.

“We can choose to, finally, be that PSC that broke that jinx and gave this country a document they can be proud of today and to posterity.”

Among the eminent Kenyans in that room were Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto.

Though Mr Ruto would later lead a countrywide campaign against the document, the Naivasha team reached a compromise which resulted in the enactment of one of the most progressive constitutions in Africa.

One of the defining features of the Constitution is Chapter Six on leadership and integrity, which now threatens the careers of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto.

The two politicians have been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity related to the 2007/8 post-election violence.

Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo is categorical that with the charges hanging over them like the sword of Damocles, the two should forget running for president unless they are cleared by the ICC.

The barrier? Chapter Six and Article 10 of the Constitution, which articulate national values and the principles of governance. They are the major hurdles between the suspects and their State House dreams.

Chapter Six is the moral anchor of the Constitution. Ironically, while in Naivasha, Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto made a spirited attempt to water it as well as Article 10 down.

Had it not been for the ingenuity of PSC chairman Abdikadir Mohammed with the support of Lands minister James Orengo, critical chunks of the chapter would have been deleted at the instigation of the two.

The chapter was discussed in less than 30 minutes as the impatient MPs hurried for lunch. The sticking point was No 91 of the chapter which deals with the conduct of state officers.

Part of the section reads: “A person who contravenes this chapter shall, in accordance with the applicable disciplinary procedure, be dismissed or removed from office or disqualified from running for office.”

Mr Ruto argued that this would complicate the lives of state officers and suggested that it should be deleted.