What the launch of Okoa Kenya says about our democracy

They say bad times bring out the best in us, sometimes. And so it was Thursday when the Opposition CORD launched a draft bill to amend the 2010 Constitution. It was a sign of the maturity of our democracy.

Thursday's was a different cast from that witnessed in the 1990s, when many lost limb and even life in the quest to amend the Constitution of that time. Or in the failed 2005 referendum that was fraught with acrimony within Government.

Yet the issues remain the same. The apparent stalemate over calls for a national dialogue in the wake of various challenges facing the nation gave birth to the Opposition's 'Okoa Kenya' initiative last July.

Through this initiative, CORD sought to have sections of the 2010 Constitution amended through a referendum.

Prior to the adoption of this Constitution, the general consensus was that the document was not 100 per cent good. And that it could be amended after its passage.

But the Jubilee-led Government has been opposed to a referendum, stating it was too early to amend the Constitution. Secondly, that the economy could not shoulder the cost of a referendum, which was estimated at Sh15 billion. It could be higher now.

Yet it remained stridently opposed to what the Opposition had christened a National Dialogue. The Opposition went ahead with sensitisation rallies across the country, managing to collect the requisite one million signatures.

The launch of the Constitution of Kenya (amendment) Draft Bill 2015, popularly known as Okoa Kenya, at the Bomas of Kenya Thursday therefore sets in motion the steps to a referendum to amend the Constitution.

The process is circuitous: the draft will be sent to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to verify the 1 million signatures before sending it to the county assemblies where it has to be passed by at least 24 of the counties.

Thereafter, it heads to Parliament for passing followed by the President's assent. If none of the houses passes the document, then the country is headed for a referendum. Evidently, there is a long way the Bill still has to go.

Some of the issues the Opposition seeks to address through the referendum include equitable distribution of national resources, equity in Government appointments, devolvement of security to the counties, increased county revenue allocations to 45 per cent of all revenue collected, gender parity in appointments and the rising cost of living.

These issues are dear in the hearts of millions of Kenyans.

Land injustices feature highly on the Opposition's agenda as well as modalities of improving governance. It also wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission reconstituted before the next elections in 2017.

Perhaps if the ruling coalition had not subscribed to the principle of winner-takes-all to the exclusion of the losers, or imagined itself as a know-it-all, the issues bedevilling the country would have been minimised or resolved through dialogue, thereby saving the country the rigours and cost of a referendum.

Still, it is not too late to forge ahead with dialogue if only to avoid subjecting the country to unnecessary politicking and other costs.

This goes to show that democracy is not cheap after all. However, we do need to celebrate the level of tolerance and accommodation demonstrated by the launch of the draft bill Thursday. Yes, we can certainly celebrate the coming of age of a democratic, tolerant Kenya.