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?

We should respect the wishes of the majority

The referendum is over. The ‘greens’ won. The only thing remaining now is the promulgation of the new constitution. Yes, I have to admit I have already learnt some vocabularies; ratification, plebiscite and promulgation, among others. Anyway, the issue of vocabularies is just a by the way.

The important issue, here, is the new narratives that are emerging from the ‘no’ brigade. It is claimed by this group that the voice of the 2 million plus voters should not be wished away. They say that these voters have an axe to grind with the new constitution. This stems from the fact that they, in the first place, voted ‘no’ because they were unhappy about some paragraphs of the new constitution. Key of these clauses is the one on the Kadhi’s courts and another one that supposedly legalises abortion. There are others, too, who have a bone to pick with the provisions on the land issue. Notably, among this latter group is former President Moi.

I respect the rights of all Kenyans to vote whichever way they deem good for themselves. However, I thought the very reason why we go to vote, in the first place, is to know the opinion of all eligible voters. The opinion, in this case, is thus measured by either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ win as in the referendum, or the candidate who carries the day in general elections.

Luckily, unlike what happened in 2007, the winning side not only carried the day but did it with a huge margin. Thus, we avoided the instance of a Samuel Kivuitu, or a Johann Kriegler if you like, telling us that the winning side can not be determined. I am also glad that the ‘yes’ side achieved the so called threshold the ‘reds’ wanted to dupe people with. With 70% of the electorate voting and 70% of them voting ‘yes’ their ‘international standard’ was indeed put to shame.

Now, what next is the issue. What do we do with the ones who are insisting that amendments have to be done before promulgation of the new constitution? Do we have to accede to their demands? Do they really have justifications for that? Anyway, in my not so schooled mind, I think they do not deserve to be given a hearing. Theirs isn’t a worthy cause anymore. They had their time. And with all the propaganda they spewed, they still could not convince the majority. I am glad Kenyans could see through their hypocrisy and the unholy alliance formed by the church and the oppressors of yesterday. The same guys who subjugated us under a tyrannical hold adopted the moral high ground to preach to us what is good and what is bad. What a shame!

Anyway, they are entitled to their opinions and I am glad the new constitution safely protects that. But they should not try to stop Kenyans from achieving what they have been clamouring for all these years, over two decades now. I have to give them credit, though, for trying all their best to derail this very achievement. They pulled all sorts of tricks under their sleeves but, luckily, none seemed to have worked.

The ‘no’ side should also let bygones be bygones. They should give us peace and allow us to move forward. Although we also need them, in our endeavour to forge ahead in the rebirth of the nation, it does not mean they have any valid reason to deny Kenyans their much awaited constitution. The time for the New Republic is now!

My biggest worry now is if we accept theirs, wouldn’t we be setting a bad precedent? Suppose in 2012 we go for elections and the winner gets 90% of the vote. Would the losing candidate be justified if they asked to govern for 10% of the time? This informed by the fact that 10% of the voters voted for their side. Of course that would be impossible and would go against the very spirit of democracy. The losing side has to gracefully concede defeat. Otherwise, the whole exercise becomes a big joke.

I am not much of a believer in democracy, also. I get disappointed, most times, when we get to choose between some devils’ incarnates. Of course, you can choose the less harmful, between the not so appealing ones. Sometimes, though, the choices can be very depressing. I have this feeling that the very best in Kenya - the ones whose integrity is above reproach, the ones who rightly deserve to lead us to prosperity - shun the dirty world that is politics. And it is for this reason that I am, in most cases, a sceptic.

However, if you enter a field and play a game, you must play by the rules – pre-match, post-match and whatever happens during the match itself. That’s what any self-respecting person should do. Otherwise, they need not be competitors and waste people’s time. Most importantly, the people of Kenya were well aware of the strengths and weakness, if any, of the new constitution and endorsed it, all the same. Thus, the wishes of the majority must be respected and the constitution promulgated as it is.