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Kenya: Power Deal Must Cater for National Interests
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The Nation (Nairobi)
OPINION
23 February 2008
Posted to the web 25 February 2008
Stephen Musau
Nairobi
Since the 1990s, Kenyans have yearned for a new constitutional order for people to participate and enhance human resource development.
The people's demands have been shelved and short-changed through intelligence, safety and defence of those in power.
The current opening that might appear from the mediation process need to be maximised to enhance governance and enrich the country's democratic journey.
Separation of head of state and head of government would be a welcome move, something that could have been tried in 2003.
With the separation of these two, the clamour should then shift to total overhaul of the country's Constitution to provide avenues for national truth, accountability and transparency, with creation of credible, effective and national institutions of governance.
National values
These institutions should guarantee the fundamental freedoms and rights of the people to associate, assemble and express, while freeing the media, with checks and balances and recreation of the national values and principles.
With a firm constitutional foundation of the nation, values and principles, vices such as negative ethnicity, hatred, anger and human rights violations , organised revenge missions by militia groups would have to find their solutions, with equitable distribution of resources, reduction of inequalities and poverty.
Historical and current injustices visited on Kenyans and triggered by the electoral commission's announcement of presidential results, must be addressed, based on the truth.
This is why the mediation process needs to come up with workable and time- bound solutions to our ailing nation. It is a fact that this would be a gentlemen's agreements not backed by any law, but the mechanisms for their implementation to avoid abuse, circumvention, strangulation or even being trashed, needs to be well stipulated, avoiding reversals to serve the status quo.
Human rights
Kenyans must be vigilant and educate each other on the developments and rise up to the occasion, reclaiming nationhood.
To ensure the long term focus works, the citizenry must re-connect and remain connected with each other, with hope that our needs shall be met if they work together.
All Kenyans must be ready and prepared to regain the tenets of human rights, good governance and democracy, through peaceful and non-violent no matter how long it takes and condemn violence, killings, evictions, negative ethnicity and displacement.
As communities we should find ways of uniting ourselves.
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In fact, we should take vows to be in the forefront in defence of human rights and democracy.
As Kenyans, the outcome of the negotiations should be analysed to provide national solutions to our problems, with provision of timely options to combat all forms of fascism.
Mr Musau is the executive coordinator, Release Political Prisoners Trust
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