POLITICS-KENYA: It’s Bananas Versus Oranges in the Constitutional Referendum

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Joyce Mulama

NAIROBI, Nov 20 2005 (IPS) - The campaign for Kenya’s constitutional referendum entered its home stretch this weekend, with supporters and opponents of the draft constitution holding a final round of rallies ahead of voting on Monday.

President Mwai Kibaki and his National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK) have lobbied citizens to approve the draft, meant to replace the constitution that has been in place since the country obtained independence from Britain in 1963.

NAK is part of a coalition government that also includes the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Roads and Public Works Minister Raila Odinga. The LDP and Odinga are fiercely opposed to the new constitution.

Those calling for a “yes” vote in Monday’s referendum have chosen the banana as their symbol, while the “no” camp is using the orange. As much as the fruit symbols are being employed to help illiterate Kenyans make sense of the poll, they also served to turn this weekend’s campaign gatherings into colourful affairs.

At the concluding rally of referendum supporters, held Saturday at Uhuru Park in the capital of Nairobi, bunches of bananas decorated the podium while many in attendance wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the word “Yes”.

Despite the efforts of various entertainment groups, however, the crowd showed little excitement – in contrast to the final rally of those opposing the constitution, who were meeting less than a kilometre away at Nyayo National Stadium. Here, thousands gathered, wearing orange T-shirts, ribbons, scarves, caps, neck ties and hats. Others came adorned with real oranges.

Both meetings were reasonably peaceful, dispelling fears of a repeat of the violence that marred earlier rallies.

Last month, four people – including school children – died in the western city of Kisumu following confrontations between police and crowds opposed to a campaign in support of the new constitution led by Information Minister Raphael Tuju. Kisumu is considered a stronghold of the “no” camp.

Earlier this month, another four people died in the coastal city of Mombasa during clashes between police and those attending a rally against the draft constitution. This came when police disrupted the meeting after it had already got underway, withdrawing its license. Officials were reported as saying that rallies could not proceed in Mombasa until Kibaki, also in the city at that time, had left.

These outbreaks of violence prompted expressions of concern from the Election Commission of Kenya (ECK), which has taken issue with the conduct of both “yes” and “no” campaigners.

“The national leaders of these sides expressly and publicly demonstrated their denunciation of these unwelcome activities (incidents of violence) in a meeting with the ECK. That was an oath they took. Yet, violence still persists,” ECK Chairman Samuel Kivuitu said in statement on Nov. 17.

At the heart of divisions over the proposed constitution lie concerns about the power it gives Kenya’s president.

Those who oppose the new constitution say it allows for an overly powerful presidency. They have called for the reinstatement of an earlier draft of the document which watered down presidential authority, and vested a share of executive power in the newly-created post of prime minister.

The earlier draft emerged from discussions held by the National Constitutional Conference, a body representing government and civil society, at ‘Bomas of Kenya’ – a cultural venue located on the outskirts of Nairobi.

The position which the earlier draft of the constitution (dubbed the ‘Bomas draft’) took on the presidency reflected views gathered by the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission.

This body was appointed in 2000 to ascertain what provisions Kenyans wished to see in their new constitution. It found that citizens wanted a reduction of presidential powers, apparently in reaction to the abuse of executive authority under former heads of state Daniel arap Moi and Jomo Kenyatta.

However, the “yes” camp says there are adequate measures in the latest draft of the constitution to keep the executive in check. The document that will be put to the vote Monday came about after NAK parliamentarians altered the Bomas draft to make provision for an executive president and a non-executive prime minister.

Initially, parliament was obliged to accept or reject the Bomas draft in its entirety. However, NAK legislators succeeded in passing the Consensus Act last year, enabling parliament to alter the Bomas draft so as to retain presidential powers.

While the “no” camp maintains the Bomas draft more accurately represents the views of Kenyans, its support of this draft may also be linked to a reported agreement between Kibaki and Odinga. The two men apparently reached an understanding that Odinga was to be given the post of prime minister in exchange for supporting the Kibaki-led coalition – the National Rainbow Coalition – during the 2002 poll that swept it to power.

But, little of this détente was visible on Saturday, when Odinga reportedly accused the president of distributing political favours in a bid to buy votes – echoing previous claims to this effect made by Kibaki’s critics.

A poll conducted last month by the Steadman Group, a research company, put support for the proposed constitution at 32 percent, with 42 percent of voters rejecting the draft.

In another poll undertaken by the British Broadcasting Corporation, “no” voters featured even more strongly (81.5 percent). About 18 percent of those interviewed said they would vote “yes”.

Should the electorate give the green light to the new constitution, it will enter into force on Dec. 12 with the signature of the president. If the “no” camp triumphs, then the present constitution will remain until such time as a decision can be taken on launching another constitutional review process.