The Constitutional rights of a Kenyan-Somali

I am both a Kenyan and a Somali. I am a Kenyan by birth and descent, whatever the latter stands for. I have been a Somali all my life, too, but only in the ethnic sense. However, with the promulgation of the new Kenyan Constitution - later this month - the way I identify myself will definitely change. Since the new constitution will allow for dual nationality, I will hopefully look for a Somali passport. Not that I can use it anywhere in the world but just to exercise my constitutional right. Thus, I will legally be a Kenyan citizen and a Somali national at the same time, without any conflict of interest.

For the Somalis, however, this has been, all along, an important issue. From the very beginning, the drafters of the Somali Constitution had the dream of a Greater Somalia in mind. This was the desire to bring all Somali inhabited regions under one nation. Thus, they sought to make it easy for all Somalis - the acquisition of Somali citizenship - regardless of where they were born. Besides the inhabitants of the two regions that formed the Somali Republic, two other provinces were essentially targeted in this quest; Ogadenia in Ethiopia and the then Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya – currently North Eastern Province (NEP).

Sadly, the vision of the Somali Irredentists was never to be. In 1977, Somalia went to war with Ethiopia to reclaim one of the missing regions (read: Ogadenia) but that wasn’t accomplished. There were some hostilities between Somalia and Kenya, as well. Luckily, that never escalated to a full blown war. Later, a pact was thus signed, between Jomo Kenyatta, on the one hand, and his Somali counterpart, AbdiRashid Sharmaarke, on the other; Somalia was, therefore, to disown the secessionist movement in NFD and cease, thenceforth, all support accorded the same group.

Another important issue for the beleaguered Somalis has been post Siyad Barre’s Somalia and how it affected the populace. A huge number of Somalis went to foreign countries as refugees. Among these new homes for Somalis are countries mostly in Europe and North America, with Australia and New Zealand partaking in their fair share of Somali 'loot'. Though a minority, there is a significant number of Somalis in some African countries. Notable among this latter group is Kenya, Uganda and South Africa. However, unlike their European and North American counterparts, it hasn’t been easy for them to grant citizenship for the dogged Somalis within their borders. Kenya, also, unlike these other African countries has a huge indigenous population of ethnic Somalis. Moreover, the Somali refugees who fled to the Middle East and other Asian countries have mostly been faced with the same predicament - not getting the citizenship of their host nations.

All these issues were never lost in the minds of the members of the numerous Somali reconciliation assemblies. They, too, like their earlier compatriots had to acknowledge the number of Somalis in the Diaspora. Thus, dual nationality for the Somalis was treated as an inalienable right. However, the Somalis have not at anytime bothered to distinguish between genuine Somali nationals and ethnic Somalis of other countries. Therefore, a Somali born in Kenya, or even the Djiboutian President, are Somalis and thus should be treated as such.

This brings me back to the Kenya Constitution. I think it would be fair for me to go out there and, just for the heck of it, acquire a Somali passport, since both constitutions allow for that. Am not sure where my loyalty will lie, though. Can I be a patriot of two neighbouring countries at the same time? Did the CoE and the PSC think of these issues, by the way? Anyway, I didn’t draft any of these constitutions and neither did I have the chance to vote. Regardless, I would still voted 'green'; the pundits are agreed on the superiority of the document. Anyway, I am not in anyway faulting the new constitution but this is just a though that occured to me. Have a constitutional day! Wont you?