President Kibaki said that the government would work towards achieving that goal by next year. The promise has been made before by the government which in 2003 said that it was going to give Kenyans a new constitution in a hundred days.
Six years down the line, Kenyans have grown weary of such promises and it has taken the intervention of the International Community to give the most needed nudge to the government to get back on track with its pledge to give Kenyans a new constitution.
Lancaster Constitution
Currently Kenya operates under the colonial constitution that was drafted in Lancaster back in 1963, and to date the constitution has undergone a number of amendments. The constitution has been criticised as one that favours the status quo and hence the delay in realising a new constitution dispensation.
According to Reuters (August 5, 2009 ) during a visit to Kenya, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed disappointment with the pace of the coalition government in implementing needed reforms that the country has been yearning for. Clinton held separate meetings with the two coalition partners where she delivered a message of concern from President Obama.
With the country’s next general elections drawing closer, Kenyans as well as the International Community are worried that without the necessary reforms the country might find itself in a similar situation as the fateful 2007 elections where innocent Kenyans lost their lives.
International Community Concerned
The concern over the pace of reforms has led to a war of words between members of the government and the Diplomatic Community. The daily Nation Online (September 3, 2009) reported that Justice and Constitutional Minister Mutula Kilonzo asked American Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger to stop meddling in Kenyan affairs.
The attacks on the Ambassador continued after a letter purported to be containing names of some key figures in the government who were issued a travel ban to the U.S. made rounds in the country. The government responded by summoning the Ambassador to explain the actions of his country
In response to the said letter the President Kibaki wrote a letter in protestation to his U.S. counterpart expressing his disappointment on how his country was treating Kenya. The government had complained that protocol had been breached and the U.S was acting in a manner that did not express friendliness to a partner-state.
Reforms have been an issue in Kenya and the country is yet to realise a new constitution dispensation with ordinary Kenyans and the civil society calling on the political leadership to give Kenyans a new constitution or risk a repeat of the post poll violence.
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