Simon Makondes story is one that everyone who went through the 8-4-4 system of education in the yesteryears remembers.
Standard two pupils used to read a short story about a man who lived a bizarre one-week life. The story goes—Simon Makonde was born on a Monday. He was named on a Tuesday. Married on a Wednesday, and taken ill on a Thursday. He was treated on a Friday. He died on a Saturday. He was buried on a Sunday. That is the sad story of Simon Makonde.
This may look like a children's story, but it reflects the shambolic situation Kenyan is in today. Kenyans have a shortlived memory. In 2010, Kenya unveiled a new constitution. Pomp and glamour was evident during the August 27, 2010 promulgation ceremony. Africa witnessed as Kenyans officially sealed the fruits of years of struggle.
Three years later, Kenyans are not certain where they are heading politically, socially and economically. The life of our new constitution may as well reflect that of Simon Makonde.
Simon Makonde was born on a Monday. The final stretch of rewriting the constitution began with the Nzamba Kitonga led Committee of Experts. The COE mandate began on a Monday (March 2, 2009) and ended on a Monday (October 11, 2010).
The constitution began with the promise of a brighter future for a country that has forever grappled with impunity, insecurity and grand corruption. It was a time to slay the ‘It’s-Our-Turn-to-Eat’ dragon.
On a cloudy Friday morning, Kenyans thronged Uhuru Park. We named our own Simon Makonde, the brand new constitution. On the same day, impunity showed the first signs that it would still be very much with us. Wanted by the International Criminal Court, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir attended the inauguration and Kenya failed to arrest him.
Simon Makonde got married on a Wednesday. The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution began its work in earnest. They assessed modalities for implementation using three benchmark questions: the accomplishments so far, implementation timelines and either speeding up the implementation or postponing the elections amid the challenges at the time. It was time to marry the new constitution with collapsing institutions.
Simon Makonde fell ill on Thursday. In its first report on implementation, CIC gave the process a clean bill of health after setting priorities and assigning longer durations for some of the legislation. For instance, police reforms were required to be in place within two years. Today, there are miniscule reforms in the service.
This is the sign of the sick society we still are. Despite the new constitution and laws to go with it, traffic police officers openly collect bribes, arbitrary arrests continue and extrajudicial killings remain unchecked.
On October 15, 2013, plainclothes police officers arrested eight members of the Coalition for Constitution Implementation, who had converged at the Tom Mboya Monument to peacefully protest the VAT Act. The same day another group which was asking President Uhuru not to honour his ICC date held a demonstration without any police harassment.
On Friday, Simon Makonde was treated. However, did the doctors really take time to diagnose and give him appropriate medication? Aren’t we the problem?
Ambiguities and constant suspension of bills that would set sections of the constitution rolling indicate the problem is from our own delinquency amid possible contradictions inside the supreme law. Bids to introduce the Access to Information Bill on the floor of the House have stalled four times, whilst the timeline dictates it be in place three years after promulgation date. That date passed this August.
The recent clamour to have constitutional amendments has faced stiff resistance. The most famous is the intent to have a referendum on devolution. The purest sign of greed is the move by Parliament to amend our Supreme Law to expunge MPs, judges, magistrates and county assembly members from the state officer designation. This blatant disregard for the people of Kenya by their elected officials is shocking.
Prior to the March 4 general election, Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice and Kenya Human Rights Commission went to court for adjudication on whether the current President and Deputy President passed the threshold of integrity, considering that the ICC had already indicted the two. The bid to invoke Chapter Six on Leadership and Integrity failed when the court ruled in favour of the two and unequivocally stopped any further discussion on the issue.
We need to go back to the confidence we had in 2010. As it was in the ‘90s, we need to protect our constitution and demand its full implementation. There is dire need to respect set timelines. For our supreme law, it is Friday, and like Simon Makonde, who died on a Saturday and was buried on a Sunday, we do want to see it go down the same path. Kenyans of goodwill and repute fought so hard for this Katiba.
Kimani Nyoike is a freelance journalist, a blogger and a critic on social justice issues. Read some of his writing at backstreetnairobi.wordpress.com
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