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The foundation of the Kenyan nation is the Constitution. For the people of Kenya, the 2010 Constitution is the embodiment of their aspirations, democratic values and sustainability of their rights.

Poignantly, the making of the Constitution was a remarkable and historic people-driven process. The document was celebrated for its hard-won success in restoring the noble ideals of the nationalists who gallantly fought for independence.

Just like in the aftermath of the euphoria that greeted the Constitution that gave birth to the Kenyan nation in 1963, the 2010 Constitution has faced monumental challenges that have stifled its full implementation.

The biggest challenge it continues to face is the attempt, some successful, by the political elite revolving around the presidency to manipulate and torpedo people-centered moves towards entrenching the culture of constitutionalism and democracy.

Noble ideals and nationalistic convictions of inclusion and equity espoused by the founders of the nation and the valiant fighters of the second liberation struggle have been meticulously eroded in calculated political machinations.

The process of implementing the Constitution has faced several challenges, some the work of those who opposed it and were entrusted to implement it yet stealthily use every opportunity to derail its full implementation for their benefit.

These nationalist values and aspirations place a high premium on the office of the president as clearly defined in the Constitution. The role of the presidency has dominated popular and political discourses on constitutional processes and implementation since 1963. Electoral justice has accentuated these contestations.

Kenyans have demonstrated their unequivocal resolve to question and strongly oppose any efforts by the ruling class to usurp the constitutional guarantee of the sovereignty of the people. They have particularly developed extreme civic sensitivity against rule by presidential fiat.

Wananchi’s aversion to the manipulation and derailment of the implementation of the Constitution dates back to the Mwai Kibaki era in 2011 when he ignored the clear provisions of the law. 

He sought to unilaterally appoint the Chief Justice, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Attorney-General and the Controller of Budget. The High Court declared the appointments null and void.

The people are watching and asking why President William Ruto appears to have deviated from the principle of people-centred constitutionalism to an authoritarian presidency overriding wananchi in virtually every facet of political and economic decision-making.

State and public appointments right from the Cabinet to key government ministries and institutions reek of ethnicity, nepotism and favouritism,

The people’s constitutional right to equal participation in political and public affairs that affect them has been downplayed. The doctrine of separation of powers circumnavigated, with Parliament more of a rubber stamp of the presidency than a representation of the people.

The excesses of the presidential system in Kenya’s constitutional and political architecture display a deterioration of checks and balances spilling into the economic realm. Overwhelming public opposition to the burden of taxation contained in the Finance Act 2023, particularly the contentious housing levy marinates this fact.

Wananchi are also questioning perceived lip service to devolution, especially in the disbursement of budgeted financial allocations, and insensitivity to the Bill of Rights exacerbated by doldrums in the health, education and security sectors.

The situation has not been helped by the display of arrogance and opulence of top government officials and their allies amid the economic hardships confronting the majority of the people.

—The writer comments on constitutional and governance issues

– [email protected]