MPs owe Kenyans a new Constitution

Members of Parliament presently deliberating on the proposed constitution must recognise that they have it in their hands the power to make or break this nation.

The run-up to the retreat meant to secure a broad consensus on a new constitution was fraught with tensions between the two main partners in the coalition government that bode ill for fruitful talks. It was finally a major relief when the impediments were put aside so that the MPs could have their meeting at the Kenya Institute of Administration starting on Wednesday.

This was less than a week after a session set for Naivasha aborted because the ODM wing was suspicious that their PNU counterparts wanted to use the retreat to force through unacceptable amendments. As the deliberations begun on Wednesday, it was evident that the climate of suspicion and bad blood still reigned.

The MPs and leaders of their political parties must acknowledge cardinal principal before making accusations and issuing threats: They are deliberating on the Constitution of Kenya. They were mandated by the people of Kenya to sit in the August House to serve the people.

They must remember that they are not discussing a constitution for themselves or any other party. They are not discussing a constitution for President Kibaki or Prime Minister Raila Odinga, nor any other individual who may be having ambition for high office.

Neither are they considering a constitution for any community or region or religion; or a constitution designed to serve any narrow interest groups.

THE PEOPLE OF KENYA AND THE WIDER NAtional interests must be paramount in the minds of MPs. On their individual and collective shoulders lies the fate of Kenya and all its people.

This proposed constitution does not come about by accident or by some flight of fancy, but out of recognition that unless this country gets a new and just social, economic and political order, then it stands in grave danger of imploding.

Kenya narrowly escaped the descent into complete chaos and anarchy following the disputed 2007 elections. The violence and savagery witnessed then served as a wake-up-call to the urgent need for comprehensive reforms, and hence the renewed search for a new constitution.

It is on the backbone of a new constitution that will be underpinned the rest of the crucial reforms identified under Agenda 4. Historical injustices, land reform and inequalities all issues crying out for resolution are dependent on a new constitution.

It is a just constitutional order that will also ensure Kenyans, as stated by those stirring words in the national anthem, live in unity, peace and liberty; and that justice be our shield and defender. It is indeed a new constitution that will ensure all enjoy equal opportunity to prosper and to strive for what gives them contentment.

It is a new constitution which will ensure that all, whether individuals, communities or other groups, can be proud and have a sense of ownership in this country called Kenya. It is the new constitution, alongside other reforms, that will ensure Kenyans never again turn against each other with the kind of brutality and savagery witnessed after the last elections.

Unless Parliament and the Government is united behind a new constitutional proposal, Kenyans will again be split along ethnic and political lines come the referendum, and we will be looking at the spectre of bloodshed once again.