Inequality and tribal politics have been Kenya’s bain for generations and Raila Odinga’s proposals for constitutional reform – introducing a proportional representation system in Kenya would go a long way in assuaging these. The ‘handshake’ between Odinga and Kenyatta could be the start in making the important changes Kenya needs to correct some of its most persistent governance challenges, PROF. YASH PAL GHAI argues while urging caution.
Despite the talk on the necessity and content of constitutional amendments, there has been little or no discussion on the process to effect legal changes to Kenya’s Constitution. It is a Catch-22 situation. On the one hand, Parliament cannot amend the Constitution without violating it. On the other hand, there is no way the Constitution can be amended without Parliament.
The Deputy President is today considered Kenya’s most frightening political figure. If he is indeed the motivation behind ‘the handshake’, that dynastic rapprochement between the Kenyattas and the Odingas, thwarting William Ruto’s presidential ambitions to protect the merchants of a half-century of impunity may well be the cure that is worse than the disease. By JOHN GITHONGO
Unchecked, the failure by the President and the National Assembly to accept the constitutional limitations of their authority will lay the foundation for a systematic breakdown in the rule of law.
During a transition into a new presidential tenure such as Kenya is going through at this point in 2017, it is expected that people – certainly government and governance scholars – will review the outgoing tenure so as to highlight the needs of the incoming tenure. If such reviews become a habit, then the next […]
The Elephant in conversation with Prof. Yash Ghai, a constitutional lawyer and academic.
The Elephant in conversation with Prof. Yash Ghai, a constitutional lawyer and academic.
Kenya is facing both a political and a constitutional crisis. The constitutional crisis preceded the political one; if it is ignored and remains unresolved, it has the potential to exacerbate the political crisis in dangerous and unpredictable ways.
A conversation with Patrick Gathara, Caroline Kioko, Marilyn Kamuru and Lempaa Suyianka
When the Supreme Court of Kenya made its ruling annulling the August 8, 2017 Presidential Election, a new-high water mark was reached in the constitutional development of the country.