This is my Draft Constitution

By Kipkirui K’Telwa

Former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan, the man who midwifed power sharing between President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, is coming to Nairobi. But don’t think he is an idler. The Chief Mediator of the Grand Coalition Government will be in Nairobi for three days to meet both Kibaki and Raila.

The old man from Kumasi, in Ghana, will also chair a meeting of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa where he is the chairman.

And before holding talks with the querulous members of the civil societies, Annan is also scheduled to meet the Serena Team that negotiated the Grand Coalition deal. That is Annan’s schedule. But does he come because he sensed that the Kibaki-Raila Coalition Government is facing a crisis and our MPs have skipped Parliament to bond at Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA)?

No, I do not think so. He is coming because he is supposed to come and our MPs are bonding because that is what they have been lacking. Cohesion and unity for a common good: A New constitution.

Kenyans need a new constitution whether Annan comes to Nairobi or not. A new constitution is an idea whose time has come. Irrespective of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa chairman’s position, Kenyans deserve a constitution that makes it difficult for a section of Kenyans to act with impunity. The constitution should assure citizens of rewards for their sweat and protect them from thieving politicians.

Since Annan is not an idler, Kenyans should rise up in one voice and demand a constitution that does not allow politicians to trample on their interests.

We need a document that empowers citizens while providing checks and balances against the excesses of the Executive.

In fact, the current constitution empowers the executive and political elite, leaving the citizens helpless and hapless. Therefore, we need the opposite of this and I hope the MPs who went for a bonding session at KIA captured this.