We need to put an end to some nonsense being peddled by desperate people that those who called for mass action, protests and demonstrations against the massive rigging of the 2007 presidential elections and the reckless execution of a civilian coup against the popular will of the Kenyan people are somehow most responsible for the crimes against humanity – the deliberate mass rapes, displacements and deaths - committed against innocent civilians in Kenya after those elections.
Not only is mass action a constitutional right; freedom of association, expression and peaceful protest were guaranteed even in the old Constitution. There isn’t a democratic constitution or international convention in the world that prohibits those fundamental rights; which are inalienable to all human beings by virtue of their humanity.
The right to peaceful assembly or protest against the perpetration of wrongs, the infringements of fundamental rights and freedoms, and popular action against dictatorship and autocracy, are ancient and fundamental. Their entrenchment and guarantee in the people’s charter is intended only as a formality and a reminder.
These fundamental rights and freedoms don’t have to be enshrined in any written document. After all, a constitution doesn’t have to be written; England has no written constitution, yet these fundamental rights and freedoms are engraved in the English culture, values, society and democratic practice, as they are supposed to be in all democracies around the world.
That is why the Bill of Rights is considered by many to be the crown jewel of our new Constitution. For without it, all the other governance structures, institutions, legislations and values would be meaningless. One can legitimately argue that without the fundamental rights and freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights, the sovereignty of the people would be a hollow promise.
When rogue elements within the state, a faction within government, or militias act separately or in concert in an oppressive, undemocratic or authoritarian manner, the people have a God-given right not just to register their opposition to such acts through condemnation; they have a corresponding right and duty to demonstrate their opposition by picketing peacefully, and if the repression continues, by taking up arms against their oppressors.
Waving placards, chanting slogans, walking and running in groups – small or large – in public spaces, in order to show disapproval of an act the people deem undemocratic, illegal, unconstitutional or illegitimate - is as old as the world itself. Throughout history, mass action is the last course of action the people have and reserve to stem injustice and excesses.
All over the world, mass action has led to the popular replacement of repressive governments and even the revolutionization of society. We saw it during the French Revolution. We saw it again during the American Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution against the British Empire. It was visible again and again during apartheid regime in South Africa. India during its independence struggle against British colonialism; African Americans during the civil rights movement; and Latin America during the fight against military juntas; taught the world about the power of mass movement.
Here in Kenya, it was mainly mass action – not armed struggle – that swept the autocratic regime of Daniel arap Moi from power. And it has been largely to mass action that Kenyans have successfully staved off imminent relapse to autocracy since 2003.
I dare say that had it not been for mass action, we might now have a completely autocratic and brutal regime in Nairobi; suppressing dissent, clamping down on the media, detaining political opponents, maiming and killing those viewed as threats to its survival. Those brave Kenyans who poured onto the streets with nothing but their bare hands, twigs and placards, shouting “Haki Yetu!” are truly the real heroes we should be praising; not the African Union.
What options did the people really have in the face of the most egregious assault on their popular and democratic will? What options did the ODM leadership have in the face of a regime unwilling to cede power? Had the ODM leadership trained, armed and commanded a military force to oppose the flagrant abuse of the people’s democratic right to vote for a government of their choice; would there be a country called Kenya today? Had the millions of people that voted for ODM resolved to fight fire with fire, how many deaths would we have had?
We can still remember what happened in Rwanda in 1994; can’t we? We can still see the smoldering fires in Somalia; can’t we? We can still remember what happened to Uganda, Angola, Mozambique and Sudan; can’t we? Innocent Africans have been massacred in their hundreds of millions fighting liberation, factional and civil wars. Tens of millions have died needlessly following civilian and military coups.
The fact that Kenya did not lose more lives is mainly due to the maturity and restraint of the ODM leadership. The regular police, administration police, the GSU and the Mungiki were armed and let loose on innocent demonstrators. The demonstrators were numerous but unarmed.
Had the ODM leadership secured arms for them or asked the millions of demonstrators to resort to violence, those shouting about mass action wouldn’t find their voices. We should all be grateful that Raila Odinga exercised restraint during that period; not insult him with nonsensical insinuations. How many people would have graciously agreed to share power with someone everyone knew he had handsomely thrashed?
Miguna is the PM’s advisor on Coalition Affairs. The views expressed here are his own.
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