CHURCH SAYS NO

The Church in Kenya will hold a meeting next Wednesday to chart a way forward following the passage of the draft constitution in its current form by parliament.

NCCK General Secretary Cannon Peter Karanja said the Church will come up with ways of mobilizing its followers to reject the draft constitution.

On Thursday parliament voted to adopt the draft constitution after failing to approve any amendment to the draft.

Speaking to the press in Thika, Karanja said the Church has already rejected the draft constitution since the parliament failed to address the contentious issues including abortion and Kadhi's court.

Karanja accused the legislators of being led by personal interests in passing the draft without adopting any of the proposed 150 amendments.

He said by pushing for the draft in its current form, the legislator had given Kenyans a license to kill the 20 year-old constitution making process.

Karanja said even at Bomas, the church had clearly rejected the issues of abortion and Kadhi's court and regretted that even after raising the matter in 2004 and going to court to have the two clauses deleted from the draft, the MPs failed to address them.

According to Karanja NCCK wrote and presented its memorandum to the Committee of Experts over the contentious issues but its stand had been ignored.

Karanja said NCCK would offer assistance to Ocampo and his team to collect vital information and evidence to pin down the perpetrators of the post election violence.

"We want the culprits to be punished to deter other Kenyans from such violence that left over 1000 people dead, others maimed, thousands displaced and properties worth billions destroyed," he said.

Meanwhile following the passage of the proposed constitution by parliament Thursday, all eyes are now on the Attorney General who is expected to publish the draft to a bill in readiness for a referendum.

The endorsement of the proposed draft constitution without amendments by parliament means the document will as drafted by the Committee of Experts now go to the AG for publishing within 30 days.

referendum

If the house had made any changes the proposed draft would have been handed to the AG who within seven days would have submitted the draft and the proposed changes to the CoE for consultation and re-drafting.

But now that remains a moot point and the AG will publish the proposed draft constitution to a bill since he too has no power to amend the draft after which the interim independent electoral commission will declare a referendum date.

The committee of experts will then have 130 days to carry out civic education ahead of a 30-day referendum period when Kenyans will either pass or reject the proposed constitution.

Upon the lapse of the 30-day period of voting the interim independent electoral commission will announce the referendum results.

If passed the constitution will take effect immediately.

Despite parliament's failure to make any amendments on the contentious issues on the draft, all is not lost as the review act provides for a window of 5 years and an optional 1 more year to amend those clauses that may be deemed defective.