Referendum: “YES” vote guarantees peace

When there are bitter struggles between the “YES” and “NO” camps to win supporters in the forthcoming referendum, it is easy to forget why Kenyans are going through the referendum in the first place. Had there not been international intervention following the post 2007 elections violence , Kenyan today would have been reduced to a hopelessly war torn country where respect for human life would have been subordinated to a level of brutal primitivism.

Before the intervention of the international community under the auspices of the African Union’s Panel of Eminent African Personalities headed by the former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Kenya was divided between the supporters of the Party of National Unity (PNU), which constituted the then illegitimate Government of Mwai Kibaki; and the Orange Democratic Movement, which, under the leadership of Raila Odinga, many believe had won the 2007 elections.

It is because these two groups – the PNU and the ODM – agreed to end the post 2007 election hostilities that the country returned to some form of acceptable peace which was symbolized by the establishment of the Kibaki-Raila coalition Government we know today. It is in the effort of avoiding the repetition of the 2007- 08 clashes that the joint leadership of ODM and PNU agreed to have a new Constitution that would get rid of historical injustices that made the people of Kenya slaughter one another after the 2007 elections.

That ODM-PNU peace agreement, therefore, would not have been possible without the formation of the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) team from both the PNU and the ODM. It is this team that looked at the way to solve Kenya’s socioeconomic and political problems through Agendas they named One to Four. One could say, without any fear of contradiction, that it is this KNDR team that saved the country from what was about to develop into a civil war caused by tycoons who paid private militia groups to cause trouble so as to either remain in political power or gain it.

Before Kofi Annan came into the picture , not a single church leader or any of the tycoons now opposed to the Proposed Constitution was concerned with any effort to bring about peace in Kenya, which was about to explode into a conflagration of tribal turmoil. They all left the field to the KNDR which was the only hope this country had to establish a nation of democratic diversity within unity. Now that the KNDR has laid the foundation for a long lasting peaceful country where justice is about to be done through the Proposed Constitution, attempts are being made to derail the whole process by wrecking the forthcoming referendum.

Nothing is of greater importance to the KNDR agreement than the referendum the country is about to go through. It is through this referendum that Kenyans can have a bloodless revolution that will reverse the trend of the haves having it all and the have-nots having nothing at all. The miracle of the latest development is the fact that both the PNU and ODM now agree that it is only through the Proposed Constitution that the country can have a long lasting peace.

One is always tempted to ask if the ODM and PNU agree to support the Proposed Constitution, why then is there still a latent secret power operating against the Proposed Constitution? The answer to that complicated question reveals the fact that the ODM of 2007 is not the same as the ODM of today. Neither is the PNU of 2007 the same as the PNU of today. The pre 2007 elections ODM was a united force that was determined to remove Mwai Kibaki form political power through the ballot.

Within it was a Kalenjin group that had plan “B” to embark on in the Rift Valley if the ODM failed to gain power constitutionally. Many believe that that plan “B” is what started the bloodbath that followed the election results that claimed Kibaki had “won” the elections. It is through this plan “B” that some crimes against humanity were committed in the Rift Valley. The result of the crimes is now water under the bridge as Luis Moreno Ocampo is already mobilizing his forces against certain individuals within the ODM.

Many believe it is because of Moreno-Ocampo’s determination to prosecute some individuals within the ODM that the party has disintegrated with Kalenjins leaders becoming rebellious to the extent of voting against the ODM backed Proposed Constitution. There is a school of thought that believes that William Ruto is only opposing to the Proposed Constitution because it is backed by Raila Odinga. William Ruto’s bitterness against Raila Odinga is believed to be based on the fact that Ruto does not feel Raila has used ODM’s formidable powers enough to protect him form Moreno-Ocampo’s possible prosecution.

The reasons for the disunity in the ODM are similar to the reasons for the disharmony within the PNU where Uhuru Kenyatta believes enough is not being done to protect him from the Moreno-Ocampo possible prosecution for alleged masterminding post election violence against Kalenjin aggression in the Rift Valley. This, some believe, is among the reasons he supports the Proposed Constitution in a lukewarm manner. So lukewarm that he is suspected to be the leader of the so called “watermelons” in the Central Province though he has vehemently denied the accusations.

The unity that existed within the PNU during the 2007 elections has also been diluted by the fact that within the PNU are some of the richest people in the country whose wealth is definitely being threatened by the referendum. If the “YES” group succeeds, all the corrupt methods of gaining illegal wealth will cease to exist. So will the impunity that protects the rich corrupt people from being prosecuted.

Both the Moreno-Ocampo’s intended prosecution and the referendum to give Kenyans an opportunity to stage a bloodless coup are meant to make sure that the country will never again be threatened by internal political strife caused by historical injustices. The “YES” vote therefore is a vote for peace in Kenya as the Proposed Constitution removes all the causes of political disharmony and economic injustices. It is a vote that gives the power to the people in the real sense of the word.

In the referendum the greatest enemy of the “YES” vote is the Clergy which is repeating the same mistakes it made just before the 2007 elections. At that time it took part in the fragmentation of the country along ethnic groupings which rekindled the fires of tribal hatred that led to the post election violence. Today the Clergy has joined forces with the rich against the poor for lucrative reasons only. It is said the Clergy is being bankrolled by the US fundamental churches that thinks the introduction of Kadhi courts in Kenya will lay the foundation stone for Sheria laws in the country.

Though that belief is based on pure ignorance the local clergy would not like to correct the situation as doing so would kill the goose that lays golden eggs for them. The Clergy in Kenya is not interest in peace just as it never was interest in peace in the pre 2007 election period. Saying “NO” for the Clergy is very good business which is swelling many individuals’ bank accounts. Greed has made many power hungry political leaders and gluttonous Clergy totally forget the real reason Kenyans need a new constitution. That reason is to establish a long lasting peace in the country, which can only come about through the “YES” vote.