5 November 2008
Nairobi — Parliament showed its determination to give Kenyans a new constitution by passing a Bill that gave directions on how to complete the process that started over 17 years ago.
The front and back benchers closed ranks to pass the Constitution of Kenya Review Bill through the Committee of the Whole House stage.
The Bill will now be sent to the Attorney-General for fine-tuning before being forwarded to the President who will sign it into law.
During Wednesday's session, MPs opposed moves by the committee on the Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs to list the non-parliamentarians who have to be consulted during the writing of the new law.
Withdraw list
Mandera Central MP Hussein Mohammed Abdikadir (Safina), who chairs the Legal Affairs committee, had to withdrew the list before the House passed the Bill.
The passing of the Bill was a milestone in the quest for a new constitution as proposed in the National Accord and Reconciliation Act which created the Grand Coalition Government.
Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs minister Martha Karua said: "The consensus-building that has been witnessed in the dropping of the list shows we are determined to give Kenyans a new Constitution."
Electoral Commission
A complementary Bill that seeks to amend the Constitution to provide for the promulgation of the new one was withdrawn for further changes so as to include disbandment of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK).
The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, which will also put in place the referendum law, is expected to be debated in the next few weeks.
Mr Abdikadir's committee introduced a series of changes that were readily accepted by Ms Karua in what she described as the spirit of the Bill that calls for inclusivity.
Among the changes was the addition of two more members to the committee of experts which was to have had seven members.
The team will prepare a draft Constitution for consideration by Parliament before being taken to a referendum.
The committee will be made up of six Kenyans who will be nominated by Parliament and three foreigners who will be picked by the House from a list provided by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, whose chairman is former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.
MPs Franklin Bett (Buret, ODM), Dr Bonny Khalwale (Ikolomani, New Ford-K) and Dr Eseli Simiyu (Kimilili, Ford-K) opposed the list stating that it excluded some groups.
"Where is the Kenya Medical Association or the Kenya Architectural Association?" asked Dr Khalwale.
Mr Bett said the Anglican Church of Kenya and the Presbyterian Churches of East Africa (PCEA) should be removed from the list because they were represented under the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), an umbrella organisation for protestant churches.
"We either have individual churches or their umbrellas," he said. They said such errors had led to the rejection of the proposed constitution in 2005.
"We are erecting poles on the path to a new Constitution once gain and this will create discontent among the public. These are the very things we did at Bomas and lost at the referendum," said Dr Khalwale
Mr Abdikadir offered to withdraw the list.
Reports by Bernard Namunane and Owino Opondo
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