Future of Kenya needs to be owned by Kenyans

Thirdway Alliance Kenya party leader Ekuru Aukot addresses Nakuru MCAs on July 24, 2019 on the Punguza Mizigo Bill. PHOTO | JOHN NJOROGE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The handshake, the Building Bridges Initiative offer opportunities for us to do things differently.
  • They are meant to bring a spirit of inclusion and diversity of voices at decision making level.
  • This way, our nation can look forward with hope that every Kenyan will have say on the future of our country.

The Republic of Kenya has had a mixed history with referendums.

It has so far held two in its history, one in 2005, when the majority voted ‘no’ to then-President Mwai Kibaki’s attempt to consolidate power, and in 2010, when the majority voted ‘yes’ to a constitutional reform in the wake of the violence and bloodshed which followed the 2007 general elections. Both referendums were the result of pressure.

REFERENDUM

The first was pressure from President Kibaki, who many saw as using a referendum on constitutional reform as a means to gain greater, some say dictatorial, powers.

The second referendum was a result of a deal brokered by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to end the post-election violence of 2007.

This means that, regardless of the good intentions of the latter which did indeed end the violence and usher in an era of power-sharing, neither of the referendums was created by the people, for the people, in consultation with the people.

However, this is all about to change.

The chatter about an upcoming referendum is too great to ignore, but on this occasion, it comes from a very different source with unlikely roots.

Ever since the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, the Building Bridges Initiative has been holding meetings up and down the country to speak to the people about the challenges that face the nation.

VIOLENCE

Rather than waiting for violence to once again rear its ugly head, President Kenyatta with Mr Odinga seem to have decided that it is precisely when the hand is not forced or under pressure from above that Kenyans can give honest answers on how to fix the problems in our political system, the Constitution and society in general.

This is an extremely important difference; the change will come out of engagement and not enmity.

This will not be a short-term fix or a plaster over the pressing problems of the day, but a holistic change that meets the interests of the people as a whole and makes our decision makers more representative.

If the rumours and statements are true, the constitutional reform will return to a parliamentary system with a prime minister and two deputy prime ministers. This will ensure that tribes and regions who have historically felt underrepresented at the highest levels will no longer be ignored.
Other leaks suggest that the Executive will be widened to include more ministers and that the Cabinet Secretaries and their deputies will have to be elected officials, who will feel a special responsibility to their constituents, and not unelected technocrats as we have in the current system.

All of these, and other changes, are meant to bring a spirit of inclusion and diversity of voices and backgrounds into the decision-making levels at the national level.

BUILDING BRIDGES

While it is certainly possible to critique some of the decisions made by President Kenyatta, it is difficult to disparage his intentions to rebuild Kenya anew on a fairer, inclusive and progressive basis.

The handshake, the Building Bridges Initiative and its national engagement, the constitutional reform ending with the referendum are all opportunities taken by President Kenyatta to do things differently, reach out and, above all, listen to the people.

As the democratically-elected President entering his final term in office, he could have just sat back and enjoyed the position without thoughts of re-election or the need to make anything more than minor decisions.

However, these steps were taken by a leader who wants to leave a legacy which simply changes the face of Kenya for the better. It is apparent that President Kenyatta doesn’t want to leave our nation to the whims of any future ethnic hostility or a leader with dictatorial impulses.

He wants the opposite, a nation at peace with itself and a Constitution in place that ensures power will not become too concentrated in any one person or grouping.

IMPORTANT DECISIONS

Of course, the fact that he intends to give the people the ultimate choice on these decisions is extremely important.

It seems clear that President Kenyatta wants the future of Kenya to be owned by the Kenyan people. They must know all the arguments for and against his constitutional reforms and make the decision as a people.

That way, our nation can look forward with hope and satisfaction that every Kenyan has had their say on the future and the type of Kenya their children and grandchildren will grow up in.

It seems like Kenya will be a radically different place when Uhuru Kenyatta leaves State House, but it is certain to be a fundamentally better one. This he will achieve in partnership with the people.

Mr Kwinga is a political scientist based in Nairobi. [email protected]