KENYA’S NEW CONSTITUTION: “FOR THE WELFARE AND JUST GOVERNMENT OF MEN”
In August, Kenyans voted by a two-to-one margin for a new constitution which the country’s Vice-President says will usher in a new age of more democratic, stable and effective governance.
H.E. Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka, MP, in
Nairobi. Mr Musyoka is the Vice- President of the Republic of Kenya, Leader of Government Business in Parliament and Minister for Home Affairs. A lawyer who has been a Member of the National Assembly for 25 years, he is the Leader of the Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya.
Kenya's 10th Parliament is facing a packed legislative agenda after Kenyans ratified a new constitution at the 4 August national referendum. I lack the words to express the depth of emotion I felt and continue to feel at the enormity of what we, the Kenyan people, achieved on that day. National moments do not come any more special. What can beat the palpable feeling of hope and renewal that swept across Kenya on Thursday 5 August when it dawned on us just what we had managed to achieve? We had sought a new
constitution for over two decades without success. In 2005 during a similar process the people of
6 | The Parliamentarian | 2010: Issue Three - Kenya
Kenya chose to reject the draft constitution. We have lived, nay suffered, under the pre-independence constitution negotiated in England with colonial influence. Subsequent alterations by post- independence leaders weakened our institutions and slowed down the uptake of democratic values and advancement of our society. The post-election violence of
early 2008 breathed new life into our search for strong governance institutions built on durable values. Several reform institutions were created by the Kenyan National Assembly and it is that impetus that culminated in the new constitution.
H.E. Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka MP.
After 2008, the price of poor governance and weak institutions became too clear and dear; it was one we could not bear any longer. Our structural deficiencies had to go; we needed to breathe life into