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The Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitution Review chairman, Mr Abdikadir Mohamed. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI
By STEPHEN MBURU
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on constitution review, Mr Abdikadir Mohamed, has appealed to leaders to ensure Kenyans get a new constitution this year.
He said it was unfortunate the reform process has taken nearly 20 years without reaching a meaningful conclusion as politicians have been hijacking the exercise.
However, he is optimistic President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga will lead the coalition government to speed up and implement a new constitution at least three years before the 2012 elections, saying it would be difficult for the country to get a new constitution if the elections are around the corner.
“We have all the ingredients required to make a new constitution. The PSC is a great team with serious lawyers and all the key political leaders. It will be a shame if this year ends and we don’t have a new constitution,” he told the Sunday Nation in an exclusive interview at his Nairobi office last week.
Mr Mohamed urged his fellow leaders to avoid a repeat of 2005 when politicians hijacked the process and mobilised the people to reject the government-backed draft constitution at a referendum.
“Kenyans must get a new constitution. Kenyans must know we must get a new constitution. Also, we have to do it with everybody on board so that nobody feels left out, sidestepped or wronged. This process has to be through consensus.
“Constitution making is about consensus. It is not about the best law. It is about the most agreed on law. We need to learn that and get the message to the people,” he said.
The Mandera Central MP also appealed to leaders to sacrifice their political differences for the sake of the nation. “We don’t need a situation where the process becomes fodder for political contest, which essentially happened last time (in 2005). This is a process for all Kenyans. It should not be seen as part of a political contest.”
He said the earlier the process is concluded, the better “otherwise, the process will again be hijacked by the democratic contest that will come in 2012.”
Mr Mohamed, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs, said his role as review chairman would be to steer the committee and by extension the country into achieving what people had been fighting for over the years. He is optimistic Kenyans, and in particular politicians, will help make his job easier.
“I am humbled by the responsibility given to me by my senior colleagues. I am humbled by the weight of the duties and I hope Kenyans will pray for our success. I need their support and the support of the media,” he said.
He said past constitution drafts would help in forming the new document, including the Bomas and Wako drafts. The former draft was adopted by the now defunct Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) after a series of conferences at the Bomas of Kenya.
This draft was then reviewed by Attorney-General Amos Wako and the Wako draft was subjected to a national referendum. The government supported the Wako draft while the opposition supported the Bomas draft. The Wako draft was rejected.
Mr Mohamed now says Kenyans could use the Wako or Bomas drafts to come up with a new constitution. “We have most of the work done. We have almost all the ingredients in place.
"We have the Bomas and Wako drafts. We have four or five volume reports from the CKRC. All that we need to do is to complete the process. We have the roadmap to conclude the process.”
He says the post-election violence that rocked the country in January and February last year, leaving about 1,300 people dead, scores others maimed and property destroyed should motivate leaders to work together and put in place a constitution that would guarantee peace.
Source: Daily Nation, Jan 17, 2009