Reform faces three challenges, and one of them is not the kitchen Cabinet

By Wanyonyi Wambilyanga

In a university hall in 2003, while presenting a paper on Constitutional reforms, Mr Mutula Kilonzo, then Shadow Minister for Justice, said he was not a shadow minister but one in waiting. His time is here.

Mutula said political will is key in determining the outcome of a constitution review. His words may come to haunt him.

Constitutional review is more than just writing the document. The clock is ticking fast but the political intrigues seem to be slowly grinding the process to a halt. That the process requires a jolt is evident but equally imminent is no one seems bothered.

Three critical issues will determine the level of success of the review process. Suffice it that none of these is going to be a ‘kitchen’ Cabinet or cronies closer to the powers. First and most basic is how willing is the minister to deliver the much needed document? Mr James Orengo made a stinging statement that Mutula was a Kanu operative and he has only come to embrace reforms recently. Unless the minister sheds off the Kanu tag or that of ODM-Kenya hardliner, the road ahead may be impassable. With the current feud between the Prime Minister and a VP who is perceived to head a paltry 12-member party threatening to boil over, the ODM-Kenya tag will definitely be a noose on Mutula’s neck. This will lead the country to the Orange-Banana divide where the sanctity of the document is less revered than political allegiance. Mutula should not live in a fool’s paradise thinking political influence will not impact on his duties.

While the kitchen Cabinet may not be a factor, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Kibaki are hardliners. Who between the two is worse is to be left to speculation, but the two principals hold the key to a successful reform process. Are they up to the task? As it stands now: No. They fail to agree on the basics of governance, will they agree on this fundamental document? Depending on how Mutula will handle them, it will be another 100-day folklore.

The third and probably the most pivotal issue is a paradigm shift for Kenyans. If the populace will still want to jump the queue, then the result will be the same. If Kenyans will still think along tribal lines the process is bound to be a debacle. If bribing to hasten services or be set free after a traffic offence remains the norm, then it is a futile attempt. What about the worker who reports to duty three hours late and leaves two hours before time despite the many people who need his or her services?

The Kenyan mindset needs to be repackaged. If this is not done the scenario of the man who came on TV and said ‘Raila amesema ni mbaya (Raila has said it is bad) — meaning they will vote against it at the Referendum without looking at the document — is bound to be repeated.

—The writer ([email protected]) is The Standard’s Sub-Editor, Weekend Editions.