Civic Enlightenment Network (C-Net) was founded by zealous university students at Kenyatta University School of Law (KUSOL) under a tree at the famous “frustration roundabout” on a cold day in July of 2012. This initiative by the young legal minds was brought about by their longing to participate in the growing political mood within the country especially in view on the new devolved system of gove
rnment introduced by the Constitution of Kenya 2010. This new system of governance was at the time novel yet interesting period for any legal mind interested in Constitutional as well as political developments brought about by the new legal regime. It offered a ripe ground on which the young men and women at KUSOL could explore their understanding of Constitutional developments and what it meant for the legal fraternity and all citizens to have the well-known form of governance structure take a different and robust transformation. This Constitutional and legal transformation however brought with it a myriad of challenges in its conceptualization and implementation. The new Constitution was now a document beholden to its people as the generation that had participated in its conceptualization, enactment and now seeing its implementation. One of the main challenges associated with having a relatively new legal regime was that only the legal minds would be looked-up to for enlightenment as to what the law was, is and ought to be for the lay person. Another fascinating challenge was in the fact that Kenya was at the time headed for elections with three additional elective positions of: the Governor; Senator and Women Representative: on top of the historically three elective positions of: the President, the Member of Parliament and the Councilor now Member of County Assembly. These unique challenges offered a great opportunity for the young legal minds at KUSOL to put their expertise to work in providing the much needed civic enlightenment to the eager public. This the students did with much zeal and dedication to their own amazement on how the public appreciated their priceless lectures on the evolving legal and political regimes brought about by the Constitution of Kenya which had been promulgated on the 28th August 2010. Civic Enlightenment Network was formally registered as a Non-Governmental Organisation in July 2013, exactly one year after its establishment. C-Net continues to offer the much needed Civic Enlightenment to members of the public through various initiatives and activities undertaken by its membership. The need for civic enlightenment continues to be of paramount importance in Kenya as a result of the legislative and governance processes introduced by the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The implementation process of the Constitution is just in its prime stages with the coming into power of the first crop of leadership under the new system of devolved government. The Constitution in being a self-implementing document, lays down the processes and procedures for its implementation with a schedule on the necessary laws to be put in place and other necessary institutions in achieving the aspirations of all Kenyans. All this processes are underpinned by citizen participation and involvement for which C-Net exists to have realized. The operational jurisdiction of C-Net reflects the diversity of its membership and therefore reaches out to quite an extensive coverage of the Country with specific focus on the following counties, including:
· Eastern part of the Country with specific focus on Machakos and Makueni Counties;
· The Mt. Kenya region with specific focus in Nyeri and Kiambu Counties;
· Nairobi County;
· The Coastal region with specific focus in Taita-Taveta County
· Nyanza and Western regions covering Kisumu, Kisii and Bungoma Counties; and
· The North Eastern region with an interest in Garissa County. C-Net undertakes its activities and initiatives in the areas of operation specifically targeting the urban poor and rural people who suffer from diminished access to information and lack civic enlightenment with regards to political, economic and social developments in the country. This creates a problem as such people are therefore left out of the development agenda of the country and remain marginalized. This sad state of affairs is what the new Constitutional dispensation was meant to address and in doing so, the members and partners of C-Net have set out to play their part in advancing the Constitutional ideals of transparency, inclusion and equality in governance and development matters through the concerted efforts by its members and partners.
