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The clamour for constitutional reforms was never going to be easy. The storm in Parliament this week when the Building Bridges Initiative Bill was introduced only served to confirm that.
Several times in the past, we have argued that the country needs a healthy debate about the proposed legal amendments; but that has largely been ignored. For there is a singular push to change the laws without considering alternative views.
Right from the outset, it is vital to acknowledge that the 2010 Constitution has inherent deficiencies and the argument for changing them is sound. BBI, an offshoot of the Handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, provided the impetus for the change, which fact has largely been accepted.
However, the point has severally been made that the amendments should in themselves be constitutional. Citizens ought to be alarmed when the political class bulldoze through legal changes and compel everyone to kowtow. At the moment, the debate in Parliament is whether or not to adopt a report of the joint committee of Justice and Legal Affairs, which has raised fundamental constitutional issues about BBI Bill.
Midwifing the process
First is the role of Parliament in debating BBI Bill that has been approved by county assemblies and second, the validity of some of the proposals contained in the document.
However, BBI proponents are stubbornly opposed to those contrarian views. Which is why the motion to discuss the BBI Bill report was moved by Leaders of Majority in both the National Assembly and Senate and not the committee chairs as is conventionally the practice.
Although not unprocedural, it was telling. It underscored the fact that the authorities wanted to push through an agenda in the House.
We restate the argument that we have made before, that the reforms should not be imposed on Kenyans. The Bill should be debated freely. Parliament should play its rightful role in midwifing the process without extraneous interference.
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