Kenya Referendum Produces 'People's Constitution'

Atema Eclai, UUSC's programs director and a native of Kenya, was in her homeland during the weeks leading up to the national referendum. In an interview upon her return to the United States, she describes what the new constitution means for the future of Kenyans who have been anticipating a progressive document for decades.

Q. What was the driving force behind the new constitution? 

Kenya gained independence in 1963, and we've had just two presidents until the current one. One thing that has not been good in Kenya is that the old constitution was being changed by the president, who had absolute power. It was changed so the president could be a lifelong president. There has been a lot of corruption of the judiciary, where the courts have been corrupted by the president and follow his will more than being an independent body. The constitution was being expanded and changed by specific parts of government to favor their own ends. We realized that the world is moving, and we were stuck in an old paradigm, so we wanted a paradigm shift. People were ready. Kenya has been at the forefront of many things in East Africa, and Africa at large, but on this we were lagging behind and not being progressive at all. The old constitution had outlived its usefulness.

Q. How would you describe the mood in Kenya in the weeks leading up to the referendum? What type of civic engagement efforts were taking place?

The mood was sometimes joyful and sometimes somber. All of a sudden, former President [Daniel arap] Moi decided he would vote "no" and came with so much force against the new draft constitution. People didn't fully anticipate that. People knew that some would vote against it, and that's normal, but the force with which Moi came out against it threw people off. Because of the post-election violence of December 2007 to January 2008, people had fear running through their veins. People feared that we would fight over this referendum, since people who have grabbed land didn't want it taken from them.

Yet, people who were hopeful started a very good civic-education campaign, so most of the public got their questions about the draft constitution answered. There were so many publications of the draft that most people were able to read it. It was published in Kiswahili and English, and then people took it and translated it into other mother tongues. The people voting "no" were playing on the illiteracy of the people, but people went on radio and on television, and talked about it, so that old people and young people alike got their questions answered.

Q. Was there concern about possible violence on election day?

The government trained security officers in how to handle crowds instead of the way they used force during the post-election violence. Nongovernmental organizations, including UUSC's partners, had worked on reconciliation and peace to prevent that type of thing from happening again. The business community was also very supportive and encouraged peace. Even the clergy, who were divisive during the post-election violence, were on board and were saying "vote your conscience, not what the clergy tell you." So despite disagreement about whether to vote "yes" or "no" in the referendum, everyone wanted it to go forward peacefully. People knew that even if we voted differently, my neighbor will continue to be my neighbor.

Q. What does the new constitution mean for the majority of Kenyans?

A lot of positive change. What we voted on was a draft. If all the things that are weak about the draft are strengthened, it will bring a lot of positive change - on issues of education, inheritance, leadership, responsibility, anti-corruption, environment, all kinds of things. Will it be implemented the same day it goes into effect? No. But it is a people's constitution, and if we really take the spirit of participation that we brought to creating the draft and the spirit that the constitution is ours — and if it's actionable — then it will mean forward movement and forward thinking for Kenya.

Q. Will the new constitution make the president and other top government officials more accountable to the people?

Yes. It will make government officials closer to the people. It used to be that the provinces had to ask permission from the central government in Nairobi in order to get anything done. But now, the new constitution will decentralize the power for the good of the Kenyan community.

Q. How does the new constitution affect the issues UUSC works on, like workers' rights and women's rights, and how will it affect the work of our partners in Kenya?

In many patriarchal ethnic groups, women don't inherit property, especially land. With this new constitution, women will inherit land. The constitution now recognizes that the informal sector makes up over 70 percent of the economy of the country. Most of the people UUSC supports work in the informal sector. The constitution also looks at the issue of the rights of children and youth, with whom UUSC's partner the Rock Women Group works. It will impact the entire population that UUSC works with in Kenya. And it is that same population that worked so hard on getting this constitution passed, because they knew it would impact them.