FREE DAILY EMAIL

Keny ans since the late 1990's, when a process of review began under former President Daniel Arap Moi.

Last December, Moi's successor Mwai Kibaki promised the country a new constitution by June but political bickering may derail this pledge.

In 2003, more than 600 delegates attended a national constitutional conference at a venue on the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi.

The conference discussed a draft constitution released in September 2002, which was drawn up by the Kenya Constitution Review Commission, a body appointed in November 2000.

However, disputes between key members of the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) have complicated the talks, a spectacle that the public has observed with dismay.

"They are bickering...mostly over the unresolved issue of power sharing between the president and the prime minister not for the...benefit of Kenya as a whole, but for their own satisfaction," remarked Mak'Onyango Midiwa, a bus driver in Nairobi.

"They are wasting time on this one issue instead of agreeing and moving ahead.

"As they continue to argue, time is flying and we may not be surprised if June (arrives) without us having a new set of rules," he added.

The unresolved issue that Midiwa referred to is a proposal to reduce presidential powers and allow the creation of a prime minister's post.

Under the present constitution, drawn up before independence from Britain in 1963, the president enjoys immense powers, which have on occasion been abused.

National Security Minister Chris Murungaru and Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi reportedly oppose this proposal and have called on the parliament to take over the review process.

Members of their camp are said to be close to Kibaki, there are fears that these alliances are preventing the president from intervening to end the constitutional disputes.

"There are instances where politicians have exchanged blows in public because they cannot stand each other's views, especially on the power-sharing matter," said Angeline Wepukhulu, a businesswoman who shuttles between Nairobi and Kakamega, a town in the western part of the country.

"All this time, the president has remained silent," she said.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which is part of NARC, is campaigning for presidential powers to be trimmed.

Roads Minister and LDP member Raila Odinga is already believed to have his eye on the premier's post.

The party is also vigorously resisting efforts to get the constitutional review process moved to Kenya's parliament.

In desperation, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) recently came up with its own draft constitution, which was strongly opposed by the delegates to the constitutional conference.

Some delegates accosted NCCK General-Secretary Mutava Musyimi, who subsequently withdrew from the talks.

In spite of these developments, certain Kenyans remain optimistic about the outcome of the review process.

"There is nothing stopping Kenyans from having a democratic constitution as long as the delegates remain firm and say ‘no' to interference by some politicians who are bringing confusion because of their small interests," Davinder Lamba, a constitutional reform activist, said.

A conference delegate Mike Oliewo added: "These politicians must understand that constitution-making has a lot to do with reaching a consensus, and this is only possible when there is dialogue.

"All parties involved must leave personal interests behind and rededicate their efforts to coming out with solid laws for all Kenyans".

Constitution drafters, delegates and others recently went on an 11-day retreat in the coastal town of Mombasa to try to negotiate a way out of the impasse.

A final draft of the revised constitution is expected on the 15th of next month, when it will be put before parliament.

The legislature will have no power to amend this document: lawmakers will either have to adopt the draft, or reject it completely. – Sapa-IPS.

SPONSORED BY

Advanced