For a whole year in 2003, members of the Fourth Estate joined 629 Members of Parliament, district delegates and others at Bomas of Kenya to dance, pray, fight, debate, feast and eventually give Kenyans proposed amendments to the constitution.
Each day had its share of drama, intrigue, sideshows and high and low points as our employer, Nation Media Group, ensured we were at the venue, some 15 kilometers away from the newsroom, between 8.30am and 4.30pm on weekdays.
Thanks to technology, we carried our laptops which we used to filed and transmit our news stories. Our photographers also used the same, away from the bad old days of sending a film physically to the dark room where it was processed into a photo to be used by the sub editors.
But by then, NTV cameramen and women had to physically take the videos to the newsroom in order to be edited and processed ready for the day’s evening bulletins.
In the assigned car, we were always five: three from Nation, and two from Nation Television (NTV). My comrades-in-arms were Njeri Rugene, Owino Opondo and Bernard Namunane. Some incidents were hilarious and inspiring while others were dull and despicable.
Weirdest incident
One of the weirdest incidents was when Kisumu Town East Member of Parliament Shakeel Shabir went to the washroom during the plenary session and returned back to his seat just to hear his name being called by the master of ceremony. “Honourable delegates, may I appeal to the member who has forgotten his pistol in the toilet to come forth and see the Sergeant-at-Arms.”
Another was of the storming of the conference by a Mau Mau veteran and politician, Wambui Otieno, with her husband, who was half her age, in tow, demanding to be allowed to attend and address the delegates on gender, marriage and rights of the elderly!
There were also other light moments before one afternoon session begun with traditional music by Juma Odemba and Kayamba Africa, for delegates to enjoy and join in a jig. I vividly recall a morning when the National Constitution Review Commission Chairman, Prof Yash Pal Ghai, was so disgusted with the shenanigans which pitted partisan cabinet ministers and 223 Members of Parliament against the 223 district delegates and civil society representatives to the point of literally crying out aloud saying: “This is utter nonsense!”
Others who were represented were: religious, professional, women groups, trade unions, Non-Governmental Organisations and other interested groups with 125 delegates and 42 for political parties.
Indeed, the meetings were every weekday from Monday to Fridays, from 9am to 4pm, with a one hour lunch break for the registered delegates and officials plus accredited journalists to have a sumptuous meal and drinks, bond and share their thoughts on the historic review process.
The delegates were divided into 18 committees of 30 members each to look into the following: Sovereignty of the people and the supremacy of the Constitution; the Republic; Citizenship; the Bill of Rights; Rights and fundamental freedoms; specific application of rights; state of emergency; land and environment; Leadership and integrity; Representation of the people; the Legislature; the Executive; the judiciary; devolved government; Public finance; the Public service; the National security; Commissions and independent offices and Transitional and consequential provisions.
Tower of Babel
In addition to the free meals, this included 10am and 4pm cup of tea and snacks, the delegates had the privilege of being accommodated in three and four star hotels in Nairobi, private transport to and from the venue and to sign daily for a weekly allowance paid every Friday afternoons by the CKRC Secretary, Dr. P.L.O Lumumba.
As the conference commenced and degenerated into name calling, partisanship, ethnicity and was commercialized by the delegates demanding for more allowances and benefits and tried to turn Bomas of Kenya into a ‘Tower of Babel’ by their sideshows, intrigues, PLO was so worked up at one point that he told them off saying: “We have done our best for you delegates; but if it’s not enough there is nothing else we can do. We have given you a lemon but if you don’t like it, just squeeze it and make lemon juice!”
There was an embarrassing moment when a delegate stood on a point of order to accuse the management of the conference of colluding with a Langata resident to purchase water from a borehole, bottle it and then sell it as “spring water” to the gullible and innocent delegates. The matter was investigated found to be true and the supplier was de-registered and stopped henceforth.
Meanwhile, whoever came up with the saying: “God made man, and man made money, and money made man mad,” was spot on.
Within the first fortnight of the conference, we saw how the power had got into their heads of the delegates as the allowances transformed the district delegates who started referring to refer each other as Mheshimiwa (Honourable Members), like their parliamentary colleagues.
Behaving badly
Like the MPs, some of the delegates started to make technical appearances by signing up in the morning and then showing up briefly in the huge debating hall before departing to go to do their personal business and return at will.
The chairman and his fellow commissioners set up 11 committees with a chairperson to look at each chapter of the proposed new constitution, debate and vote on the proposals to be taken to the plenary for further debate, amend, delete and eventually endorse clauses to be included in the first draft.
It was at that stage that things got thick, partisan, political, ethnic, business, personal and gender interests creeped in to draw a rift between the delegates. Among the most visible, audible and strong lobbies were religious leaders, especially the Christian and the Muslim representatives who had a fixed mind about what they wanted and what they did not want to see in the new constitution.
Another powerful lobby was of politicians from the two major political parties, PNU and Narc, led by President Kibaki and Roads Minister, Raila Odinga, respectively among others who had their own interest and demanded to have them taken on board.
One of Kibaki’s diehard supporters and PNU Cabinet Ministers, John Michuki, did not mince his words at a press conference when challenged by a journalist, Caleb Atemi, why they were changing goalposts after taking over from President Daniel arap Moi, whom they had accused of being “an autocrat and a dictator.”
“Politics is like fresh liver, you have to keep moving it from hand to hand in order for it not to fall down!” Michuki said.
Gender agenda
Women politicians, leaders and gender activists placed themselves strategically in all the committees to ensure that their gender agenda was brought on board and implemented to the letter.
Cabinet Ministers Martha Karua, Charity Ngilu and Prof. Wangari Maathai led from the front followed by MPs Millie Odhiambo, Adelina Mwau and Grace Ogot and Prof. Margaret Kamar.
In the Commission, women comprised of six out of the 27 commissioners to take care of their interests, namely: Abida Ali-Aroni (vice chairperson), Phoebe Asiyo, Nancy Baraza, Kavetsa Adagala, Salome Muigai, Dr. Wanjiku Kabira and Alice Yano.
Among the delegates there were those who were mute and joined ‘the silent majority.’ There were the vocal and visible ones like former education minister Peter Castro Oloo Aringo, Greenbelt Movement founder, Prof Wangari Maathai, former chairman of Non-Governmental Organisation, Ambassador Orie Rogo Manduli, Prof Makau Mutua, Sophia Abdi, Suba Churchill, Atsango Chesoni, Judy Thongori and Ann Njogu among others.
Aringo made a name as a member of the Executive committee who sneaked into the Bill of Rights Committee where he managed to move and lobby members to embrace the affirmative action clause included in the final draft.
Prof. Maathai lobbied to have the delegates support a motion to create a committee to study culture and environment issues to be included in the draft constitution.
Sofia Abdi exposed graft in the review process when she revealed that, while she was on an educational scholarship abroad, another lady been attending the year-long conference and signing up for allowances on her behalf without her knowledge or consent.
Prof. Mutua, who was a Dean at the prestigious New York State University law faculty in the United States of America and one of the founders of the Kenya Commission of Human Rights, ran into trouble at the beginning of the historic conference when he was accused of running a parallel review process with Prof. Ghai and some commissioners at Palacina Residential Hotel in Nairobi, near State House.
The don and his ilk were nicknamed “The Palacina Team,” and were further accused of having an advance copy of the final draft ready to present to the conference after the delegates had gone through the motions.
But the serious allegations were denied profusely by Prof Ghai, P.L.O Lumumba and Prof. Mutua as a figment of the imagination of their critics. The matter rested there.
High point
There was excitement, unity and sense of national pride at the opening of the conference by President Mwai Kibaki, who had been sworn in a year earlier to replace his former boss, Daniel arap Moi, whose mandatory constitutional five-year term limit had expired.
The 2,500-capacity hall, designed in an African hut shape, burst into protests songs under Moi’s 24-year rule, danced and ululated in joy saying: “Yote yawezekana bila Moi (all is possible without Moi)!
Another light moment was when flamboyant Orie Rogo Manduli protested bitterly to the chairman of the conference why the washroom for the women had a “tiny” mirror, while women need to see their entire face and body as they faced the fellow delegates and the world. The request was acted upon and new big mirrors were bought an installed overnight.
It was all smiles, praise and pride by female delegates as they gave a nod to the fashionista and first woman to compete in the East African Safari rally in 1974. But the honeymoon among delegates evaporated after a fortnight when reality dawned that getting rid of Nyayo (Moi) was just one hurdle, getting delegates to agree on a new constitution was another mountain to climb.
Darkest hour
The divisions between the delegates grew wider and stronger by the day as the conference broke into committees to fine tune the final chapters to be presented to the plenary for approval to form the Final Draft.
One of the contentious areas was on devolution. Political Science Prof. Odhiambo Mbai of University of Nairobi was an expert in the area and during the initial debate he wowed the commissioners and delegates with academic and practical examples why the country should embrace the system, like in South Africa, Nigeria and other countries.
Mbai’s argument was so effective that he received a standing ovation and forced the master of ceremonies to give him more time to expound on public demand. Later when the 11 committees were formed, which included the Chapter on devolution, the don was the automatic person who was voted for by delegates to head it.
But fate was not on his side as after deliberating and agreeing on how devolution would be incorporated in the proposed draft, he left the venue at Bomas of Kenya, for his house off Ngong Road, near Adams Arcade, never to return again alive.
On that fateful Friday afternoon, two gunmen stormed his house and sent him to an early grave. His nephew who was in the house upstairs heard the gun shorts. Upon going to find out what was happening, he saw his uncle lying prostrate on the floor with blood splattered all over the floor.
He called for help and some of the neighbours came, one of them ordered him to clean up the blood stains “so that the widow will not be traumatised!” Later, two people were arrested and charged with the murder, but they were later acquitted.
One of the key areas of contention was whether the country should embrace a parliamentary, a presidential or a hybrid system. The PNU wing wanted to retain the status quo by having a presidential system, but the ODM wing wanted a parliamentary system headed by a Prime Minister with a ceremonial President.
When the hour of reckoning came at the tail end of the conference, the majority of the delegates backed the parliamentary seat and as they were voting, their rivals walked out in protest accusing Raila and his party of “a civilian coup!”
But the PNU wing did not walk out without giving their rivals their piece of mind. During a stormy closed door meeting, rumours did the rounds that Karua slapped Raila in the heat of the moment. But it was never confirmed.
The then powerful Constitutional Affairs Minister, had backed by Vice President Moody Awori, declared that they would not recognize the final vote saying it was irregular, null and void.
Meanwhile, Raila and his supporters and delegates burst into song and dance to celebrate their victory in the National Constitutional Review Conference. This was short lived as the final draft was frustrated by the PNU wing through parliament.
Eventually the amended draft was agreed upon by Parliament and was passed and a referendum was held in 2005, which flopped.
A second attempt was made in 2010 and was successful thanks to Kibaki and Raila united in a government of national unity after the post elections violence in 2008, which left over 1,000 people dead and 600,000 others displaced in the country’s darkest history.
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