Civic agenda for building active citizenry and democratic security is crucial

By Ndung’u Wainaina

Kenya is a post-authoritarian conflict society far from reaching irreversibility. It is fortunate to have enacted a progressive democratic Constitution providing prerequisite framework and compass for state reconstruction.

Democratic laws and institutions are surest protector of individual rights not transient ethnic political lords. Of immediate concern are three things. First, sustaining demand for upholding rule of law and accountability to protect rights of individual citizens, restraining conflict recurrence and building sustainable peace.

Second, fostering momentum on building democratic, inclusive and legitimate institutions and governance systems flowing from the Constitution as it is difficult maintaining long-term stability and prosperity without human rights, political participation and economic freedom for their citizens with such institutions.

And third, guaranteeing credible, democratic and secure general elections truly reflecting the will of the people and not imposed outcome. Political leadership has historically purported to speak for the people and not listen to the people. The journey to building a lasting democracy and wiping out the traces of past autocracy is long and strenuous. It might realistically take more than 15 years to consolidate a true effective democracy with real meaning to people’s lives.

Time is ripe to embark on a rigorous constructive civic agenda to promote and inculcate constitutional culture, rule of law, active citizenry and democratic security sector.

This is a process not an event calling for unrelenting concerted efforts. To begin with, a viable, trusted State authority and democratic institutions based on forceful national integrity system needs to be re-constituted.

Then, well structured strategic coordination systems to execute the action plan should be created and a data bank for tracking the mobilisation of funds, allocations and accountability mechanisms established.

County based democracy and information resource centres to provide information and facilitate public policy participation, informed dialogue; exchange and consensus should be set-up and a fund to sustain grassroots human rights education rather than episodic feverish education confined to election time created.

Social mobilisation of communities and public interest litigations are critical tools for advancing effective transparency, accountability and participation in governance and protection of human rights of citizens. Conventional media might remain a significant source of information for wider public. However, new technology-driven means of disseminating and sharing information is crucial in promoting and sustaining democratic and human rights practice.

Media have to embrace paradigm shift including investing in developing capacities of journalists. Recruiting and building capacities of new human rights defenders cadre, passionate and knowledgeable about values of justice, constitutionalism, human rights culture and practical skills of deepening democracy is a precondition of active grassroots social justice movement.

Facilitate an experience sharing programme for them. Institutions of learning are fertile grounds for training human rights defenders. Education curriculum need to change.  The reform and transformation of justice and security sector is a major challenge.

It is both a constitutional imperative and political objective of democratic dispensation and building accountable and democratic institutions. They are essential for sustainable peace, development, security and human rights culture and thus a continuous, systematic and targets based mechanism for benchmarking and assessing their progress is prerequisite. Security sector constructs barriers; resists adequate constitutional and accountability mechanisms and good governance practice.

It is hostile to public scrutiny and accountability. Yet, the country must develop security institutions with capacities to effectively tackle common and organised crimes. A collaborative platform between the State and the society on security and defence policy is therefore imperative.

Security sector is not limited to police, intelligence, immigration, and military only. It also includes executive, legislative and judicial oversight bodies and related civil society organisations working on security issues.

Developing security and defence policy framework transcend from State security to human security defending and protecting all citizens from all forms of violence and insecurity. National ownership of this policy framework is significant.

Sovereign authority in a democracy lies with the people. The military, police and intelligence, as part of the executive branch, are accountable to Parliament. Parliament must approve the defence and security related policies, budget, procurement and the review audits of security organs’ performance and expenditure.

Parliament, constitutionally, ensure organs are not autonomous in their decision-making but are accountable to democratic institutions. In this regard, and in order to enforce good governance and effective oversight on security sector, Parliament and civil society need to build their relevant capacities.

Civil society’s role in security sector is legitimate. Security threats, concerns and priorities need proper identification and rationalisation with human, financial and material resource allocations. External and internal security requirements demand coordination and cross-fertilisation of skills and ideas between Parliament, civil society and the security sector. 

Statutory and legislative initiatives are necessary to frame rules on information policy management to counter waste and corruption that often go unreported. In this way, the diversion of resources from social and economic development to the security sector and undermining social justice priorities is curtailed.

A lot of parliamentary capacity development is needed to improve civilian oversight of military, intelligence and police. The National Security Council Bill, National Intelligence Bill and Kenya Defence Forces Bill must be publicly scrutinised, firmed and enacted by Parliament to establish watershed accountability mechanisms and good governance of the entire security sector.

The writer is Executive Director, International Centre for Policy and Conflict. [email protected]