Constitution to dominate elections

The next elections will entirely be based on the new Constitution. Not only will it be mandatory to follow it to the letter; but the voters will also be looking for candidates are genuinely concerned with its accurate implementation. So far we have seen very many attempts to change the constitution through the publication of laws that go against its letter and spirit.

The new Land Bill is a case in point. Chapter Five of the Constitution is extremely clear on matters of land ownership. Article 68 (c) says, among other things, Parliament shall enact legislation to prescribe minimum and maximum land holding acreages in respect of private land. Section 189 (1) of the proposed Bill says that within one year of the coming into force of the Land Act, the Cabinet Secretary shall commission a scientific study to determine the economic viability of minimum and maximum acreages in respect of private land for various land zones in the country.

The purpose of prescribing minimum and maximum land holding by the Constitution was obviously to try and bridge the gap between the huge land owners in Kenya and the landless. It so happens that soon after independence those who found themselves in political leadership automatically became land grabbers. They used very fraudulent methods to acquire very huge tracts of land. With that in mind many people expected the new draft Bill to suggest minimum land acreages an individual could own. But instead the Bill is suggesting the establishment of a scientific study to determine what is economically viable for minimum and maximum acreages.

In essence this means the scientific study may suggest that the huge plantations owned by land grabbers should not be subdivided to benefit the people because doing so would not be economically viable. According to the new Bill the hope of ever thinking of dividing the huge tracts of illegally acquired land to benefit the people will not even take place until after a whole year has passed subsequent to the land law coming into force.

Section 189(2) of the draft Bill says the findings of the study shall be available for the public to make observations and should be modified based on valid representations in accordance with principles of participation of the people, good governance, transparency and accountability. During the electioneering in the forthcoming contest political leaders must tell the people how their parties intend to do that. The proposal of how to make millions of landless Kenyans own some land must come out openly during this election.

After all Article 61 (1) of the Constitution says all land in Kenya belongs to the people of Kenya collectively as a nation, as communities and as individuals and it further emphasises that land in Kenya shall be held, used and managed in a manner that is equitable, efficient, productive and sustainable, and in accordance with the principles of equitable access to land. The Constitution also protects security of land rights; sustainable and productive management of its resources; its transparent and cost effective administration; and sound conservation and protection of ecologically sensitive areas.

The Constitution suggests the elimination of gender discrimination in law, customs and practices related to land and property in land; and encourages communities to settle land disputes through recognised local community initiatives consistent with the new law. These are issues which voters must demand to be discussed in a more detailed manner during these elections. Political parties must show the people how their manifestos intend to implement controversial land issues suggested by the new Constitution.

The Constitution says these principles shall be implemented through a national land policy developed and reviewed regularly by the national government and through legislation. During the campaign the voters must be told by the candidates what land policies they want to introduce in Kenya. The candidates, and indeed all political parties, must tell the people how they intend to reduce the number of landless people by making them get something from the large landowners who are at the moment not even utilizing productively the land they have.

Section 189(3) of the proposed Bill says within three months after the publication of the final report of the scientific study commissioned under the law the Cabinet Secretary shall table the report to Parliament for debate and adoption. At that time the Cabinet Secretary shall prescribe the rules and regulations on the minimum and maximum acreages in respect of private land solely based on the recommendations in the report. This does not however preclude political parties from telling the voters what their policies about maximum and minimum acreages of land ownership should be.

Today this country has thousands of people living as IDP whereas they were landowners before the last general election. It was due the erroneous promises made by politicians about land ownership that thugs invaded the IDP’s former land and acquired it illegitimately. Promises made during election time to the voters about land ownership are important and this time they should be examined to find out whether they are lawful promises and whether they fall within what the Constitution says about land.

Voters should demand from all political parties to be told how they indent to implement Article 43 of the Constitution which says every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care; to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation; to be free from hunger, and to have adequate food of acceptable quality; to clean and safe water in adequate quantities; to social security; and to education.

The Constitution clearly says a person shall not be denied emergency medical treatment and that the State shall provide appropriate social security to persons who are unable to support themselves and their dependants. In every election politicians have made promises about these things in the most reckless manner. In the past however these things were not promised by the supreme law of the land. Now it is incumbent upon all candidates, particularly Presidential candidates to tell the people how they plan to implement the Bill of Rights in the new Constitution in order to achieve the second generation human rights.

Failure to do so in a convincing manner would be a disqualification wananchi should ruthlessly use to throw out candidates who want to be elected on tribal rather than policy tickets. May be the best way of finding out who is most suited to be the future President of this country would be to share platform and debate on how to, most effectively, implement the Constitution.

It is about time the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) came out with a mandatory rule to be obeyed by all candidates about public sharing of political platform in which journalists ask hard question based on the new Constitution. To avoid heckling in those meeting they should be confined to televised debates which should be aired by all stations in the country.

This is the only way of avoiding the hype and hoopla which dominated previous elections in this country. It is about time Kenyans took the substance of elections, in which party manifestos are thoroughly securitised, more seriously.