Let the public direct constitutional reform with politicians input

The political momentum for a referendum, content of which is yet to be clarified, is fast gathering speed. So much so that the Deputy President whose opposition to the referendum has been consistently vigorous has done a 180 degree turn and joined the bandwagon, albeit with loaded reservations on content, a politically clever thing to do. While the political dynamics may change as the contents proposed by the Big 2 are clarified, I wish to put in my few cents on what must be included in any proposals to review Kenya’s young Constitution and it should not include.

First a warning. The public is supportive of the referendum on the naive premise that it is intended to resolve the cost of government which many, again naively, assume is the cause of Kenya’s fiscal crisis. Nothing could be further from reality. Any student of history will tell you that proposals for reform by politicians can never be about reducing space for political and bureaucratic jobs; these tend to be necessary for political payoffs and they create space for accommodating the largest number of political actors. For the political establishment, the focus will therefore be on expanding the executive and finding political space of the best loser in the Presidential polls, ostensibly to ensure national unity and strangely, adding a third devolution tier.