On Katiba Day, we should audit promises kept and those broken

16 years on, Kenya’s Constitution has delivered gains, but accountability and equality remain works in progress. [Courtesy, Standard]

This week, Kenya marked 16 years since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, a document born from decades of struggle, public agitation, and finally, the “never again” 2007-08 post-election violence.

Katiba Day, first proclaimed as a perpetual national anniversary in 2025, offers a moment for both celebration and sober reflection.

There is no doubt that the Constitution has not delivered on many of its lofty aspirations. However, Kenyans recognise that the Constitution is not the problem. To quote one of the opposition luminaries, the problem is “the distance between the text we celebrate every August and the conduct we tolerate for the other eleven months”.

That said, there is no doubt that the Constitution has delivered in several respects.

Devolution stands as its hallmark achievement, creating two levels of government that have brought resources and decision-making closer to communities. New water, health, markets, agricultural projects and an across-the-country road network bear tangible testimony to devolution’s systemic rebalancing of the country.

A sweeping majority of Kenyans, 75 per cent, applaud devolution’s progress in transforming livelihoods.

The judiciary has also emerged as a formidable guardian of the constitutional order. Entrenched judicial independence has enabled courts to fearlessly strike down executive overreach.

The appointment of 92 judges, the highest number by any President, demonstrates institutional commitment to an expanded and empowered bench. Today’s judiciary stands in stark contrast to the courts before 2010, which were anxious not to offend the Executive.

The anti-corruption architecture has been gradually improving. The Constitution placed leadership and integrity at the heart of the constitutional order through Chapter Six.

In the 2024/25 financial year alone, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) forwarded 175 completed investigation files to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The conviction rate has nominally increased from 51.5 per cent to 53.7 per cent.

Beyond institutions, the Constitution has expanded political and civil rights. Compared to our neighbourhood, Kenya’s media enjoys expansive freedom to criticise government and expose corruption.

These gains notwithstanding, implementation remains deeply uneven. Corruption, selective application of the law, weak accountability, and disregard for constitutional values continue to overshadow the Constitution’s promise.

Perhaps no constitutional promise has been as stubbornly elusive as the two-thirds gender principle. On at least two occasions, the High Court has declared the supreme governing body, the Cabinet, unconstitutional. Parliament remains defective, gender-wise.

Public participation, a constitutional obligation, is often reduced to a tick-box exercise.

While civic freedoms have been expanded, instances of erosion of the Bill of Rights are notable. Amnesty International Kenya, while acknowledging that the constitutional framework has strengthened human rights protections, expanded institutional checks, and promoted public participation, warns of a shrinking civic space.

It cites excessive force, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions against protesters, actions that violate Article 37’s guarantee of the right to peaceful assembly.

Chapter Six on leadership and integrity remains largely aspirational. A Transparency International Kenya report shows that corruption remains entrenched in both the public and private sectors, with EACC’s actions merely impacting the margins.

Individuals with ethical questions continue to ascend to public office. The National Assembly’s vetting process, envisaged as an integrity filter, has become a choreographed ritual of deference to the Executive.

Devolution, while celebrated, faces mounting fiscal pressures. On devolution, while the Kenya Kwanza government, unlike its predecessor, has been faithful in timely expenditure releases to county governments, legacy and new pending bills, currently amounting to over Sh180 billion, have had devastating effects on business people.

On the implementation of economic and social rights under Article 43, it is commendable that the government has invested substantial resources in improving access to healthcare, housing, food, water, and social security.

However, these rights remain insufficiently realised, with poverty and inequality continuing to hinder their full enjoyment.

Civic awareness remains low. No significant resources have been invested in civic education despite the statutory mandate.

A civically uninformed populace cannot protect the Constitution from its myriad enemies. A civically unaware population cannot participate effectively in the Constitution’s implementation.

Katiba Day is thus a critical opportunity to remind citizens and government of the centrality of the Constitution.

It must not, however, become a mere celebration of parchment. It must become a sincere audit of promises kept, those broken, and a commitment to do better.