Our only option

Some members of the Christian clergy in Kenya, the vast majority in fact, opposed the promulgation of the new Constitution on religious grounds, claiming that it would authorise unfettered access to abortion in public hospitals and lead to the decline of the family. No statistics exist yet, but no stories abound of the hordes of women rushing to public hospitals to procure abortion services and, to my knowledge, no homosexuals or under-age persons are getting married in droves. Perhaps, given the social stigma associated with them, women continue to procure abortions in secret and homosexuals are keeping their sexual relationships secret to avoid the wrath of a riled up public. More significantly, very few persons are discussing these topics today, almost a year since the Constitution was ratified and promulgated.

It seems that even with the clergy the subject that animates everyone is the 2012 general elections. Another that seems to have captured the imagination concerns the pace of the implementation of the Constitution, and, led by the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution, the general opinion seems to be that we are lagging behind in the implementation process and that some interested parties, in and out of government, are hell-bent in sabotaging the process. In quick succession, the CIC has led the chorus against Members of Parliament, the Attorney-General and the Head of the Civil Service. However, not once has the CIC provided proof of the misdeeds of these institutions, merely alleging that some of their acts have had the effect of sabotaging the process.

It should go without saying that the implementation process was never going to be easy of straight forward. The Constitution is a complex document, drafted to reflect a political and social consensus that had been forged during the drafting process. Many of the provisions of the transitional clauses reflect this consensus. As the Prime Minister has joked, if it were not for the Constitution 'saving' the National Accord, he would now be out of a job. For the PM and his party to endorse the Proposed Constitution, he had to be guaranteed continued political power for as long as possible and saving the National Accord guaranteed that he wold continue to play an important role in governance and, indeed, in the implementation of the Constitution.

The role of the citizenry has largely been overlooked and it is fortuitous that in its fight with the Head of the Civil Service, the CIC has also proposed renewed civic education. Kenyans must be reminded that they are an integral part of the implementation process and that nothing should be done without their consent or their participation. They can participate fully by organising themselves effectively, either by joining political parties or the myriad of civil society organisations devoted to holding the government's feet to the fire over matters of national importance. They can also do so by ensuring that all faith-based organisations take a more than casual look at the role they can play in keeping members of the political class honest. It is time we started questioning he wisdom of permitting politicians to make political speeches during funerals or their almost constant invitations to participate in religious ceremonies of whatever kind. Not a Sunday goes by without stories of politicians being invited, or, more commonly, inviting themselves to church services and using the captive audience for their own political ends. If the church, and any other faith-based organisation, is going to permit itself to be used for political ends, then it is high time it defined what its priorities were and crafted a strategy to achieve them. It can no longer be a passive spectator to the acts being committed in its name by a class that has forever disappointed its own people.

There is no single guarantor of the success or failure of the implementation process save the people of Kenya. One way or the other we must be roused from the political stupor we find ourselves in and take back the public sphere that we have abandoned to the ruling classes. Towards this end, the topic of reform must be discussed with our active participation. If our education system is to be reformed, reform must reflect our priorities. If political parties are to be reformed, the reform must focus on empowering us to be better citizens and to make better choices of representative leaders. If we allow the reforms to focus solely on the needs of politicians, we will have ourselves to blame for the mess things will become. Positive change can only come by way of our consent and participation. It is our only option.