Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Culture (4cs) is a national organization with the peoples mandate to cultivate, nurture, foster and defend a peoples responsive constitutional order. The organization is rooted in the sovereign will of the people of Kenya and therefore a home grown source of constitutional authority. It is one thing to write and promulgate a constitution, but it is another thi
ng altogether, indeed a daunting challenge to proclaim, internalize and ultimately live up-to its values. Understanding the letter of the law is essential but upholding the spirit of the law is of utmost essence in as much as emboldening and affirming the emergent constitutional spirit entails informed citizens participation, enhanced citizen capacity to make good (informed) decisions and strict fidelity to the just rule of law. Societal transformation involves deconstructing reconstructing the mindset and the heart-set thereby necessitating a remarked departure from impunity to integrity, injustice to justice, inequity to equity, indiscipline to discipline, irresponsibility to responsibility, human degradation and destruction to human dignity and development as well from decadence and decay to propriety and moral probity. The journey has just began in earnest, a journey no doubt delicate, abrasive and challenging and one that requires clasping of hands with progressive individuals, initiatives, development agencies, faith based organizations and by extension all people of goodwill especially echoing the insightfull words of Kofi Annan, former UN scretary general thus, "there can be no security without development and no development without without security and neither can be sustained in the long term without being rooted in the just rule of law". It is therefore time to breath good life into the new law in as much as the new law must begin to live in the people. Indeed it is time to affirm the new dawn. Khairalla. Executive Director-4cs. Commemorating Katiba Day: Awakening to the Reality of a New Dispensation
A concept paper for the commemoration of Katiba Day essentially to reflect and audit the management of the transition and the implementation of the constitution
By
Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Culture (4Cs), URAIA, CRECO and Like Minded Organizations
27th August 2010, the Kenyan nation witnessed with bated breath and jubilation, the Promulgation of the Constitution, the culmination of a long and arduous liberation struggle for meaningful, genuine, sustainable and a peoples’ responsive constitutional culture. The event marked the culmination of grueling and highly ravaging struggles in which lives were lost, limps broken, families tormented, humiliated and even destroyed, careers devastated and individuals’ manipulated, abused, misused and innocent blood shed. To-date, despite the promulgation of a new constitution, the dilemma of a new dawn amidst marauding impunity is increasingly becoming apparent especially given the nuances in the management of constitutional transition within an emboldening electoral transition and accompanying miasma in so far as current political calculations in the management of the transition and the implementation of the constitutions are concerned. The promulgation of the new constitution marked the end of an important phase of the struggle in as much as it marked the beginning of a more difficult phase of the struggle for constitutional reforms. Instructive to note that it is one thing to write a constitution, but it is another thing altogether to proclaim, internalize and ultimately uphold its spirit and live up to its values. Ardent interrogation of the paradigm of constitutionalism does confirm that the spirit of the law substantially resides in the just rule of law and therefore the need to promote constitutionalism in the implementation of reforms. This entails cultivating, nurturing, fostering and defending peoples’ responsive constitutional order. The essence of informed and effective citizen participation in the management of the transition and the implementation of the constitution as well principled interaction with the implementers for informed decisions and interventions in the implementation of reforms are critical in as much as they are inescapable in the realization of genuine reforms. The dilemma of a new dawn amidst marauding impunity presents highly disturbing and challenging environment and therefore demands strategic interventions especially in grappling with the nuances of constitutional transition and the polarizing electoral transition. The need to embolden and affirm the emerging constitutional spirit no doubt constitute a priority agenda especially in informing and directing proper management of the transition and the implementation of reforms. Katiba -27th August) Day is therefore an important day in the history of liberation struggles. Important as it is, three years into the implementation of the constitution, this day has not been afforded the requisite value and acknowledgement in the national calendar, a disturbing and indicting trend and worrying indication of the collective failure of the nation to awaken to the reality of a new dispensation. Suffice it to observe that continued disregard for important historical events only facilitate the manipulation and decimation of good history particularly putting into perspective the fact that history is the custodian of posterity. When important historical events are disregarded, history is manipulated and as a result, important and good historical knowledge is distorted, ignored and buried while bad history is passed onto successive generations. Such a society, it is important to note is constantly in a state of degeneration. As a consequence, consultations have begun to rekindle national interest in re-writing our history by acknowledging and honoring important historical events and national achievements. The most effective way to do this, essentially, is to ensure that historical events are commemorated and recorded. A number of civil society organizations are therefore coalescing around Katiba Day as a critical step towards a building a better Kenya and by extension begin in earnest the special assignment of re-writing our history. A number of activities have therefore been proposed during this Katiba Day principally to awaken the nation to the reality of a new dispensation. The theme for this year’s Katiba Day is intended to enhance informed and effective citizen participation in the management of the transition and the implementation of the constitution especially in securing devolution. Objectives
The overall objective of commemorating Katiba Day is to awaken the nation to the reality of the new constitutional dispensation through informed and effective citizen participation in the management of the transition and the implementation of the constitution. The event will witness complimentary activities tailored at invoking informed citizen participation and thereby promoting constitutionalism in the implementation of reforms. Other objectives will include the following;
1. Enable direct and substantive interaction between policy makers and the duty bearers through a half day interactive debate to facilitate direct citizen oversight, audit, insight and fore-sight around the implementation of reforms. A round table of representatives of constitutional commissions will directly interact with civil society leadership ostensibly to critique progress in the management of the transition and implementation of the constitution. This will be in the strict sense of the word, a real people’s parliament!
2. Conduct a citizen report card debate on the status report on the management of the transition and the implementation of the constitution
3. Secure devolution through informed and effective citizen participation
4. Generate publicity around emerging issues and concerns especially around legislations and the legislative environment and the legislative agenda.
5. Raise the collective voice on the reform agenda against political calculations and interferences with the legislative agenda such as delay in the enactment of key legislations and intended mutilation of the t the National Police Service Act.
6. Re-awaken, rekindle interest and affirm the position of civil society as the source of constitutional authority in providing the requisite leadership and direction in the implementation of reforms.
7. Embolden the debate on the abolition of death penalty as mandatory constitutional stipulate.
8. Carry out Kenya Tuitakayo forums and related activities country-wide as a way of commemorating Katiba Day and particularly host a Kenya Tuitakayo Exhibition
MIGORI COUNTY CITIZEN FORUM. DATE: 19TH JULY 2013. VENUE: SUGARLAND HOTEL, AWENDO. MIGORI COUNTY CITIZEN FORUM LIST OF INTERIM OFFICIALS. NAME POST CONTACT
DICK OLELA CHAIRMAN 0727752158
HIREEN OCHIENG SECRETARY 0715645270
LAWRENCE OGWENO TREASURER 0720168141
PAULVINCE OCHIENG PASTOR 0727295436
TOM WASONGA YOUTH 0710246440
LUCAS OTIENO SPECIAL INTEREST 0723259141
PETER.O.ALEX BODA BODA REP 0713560352
PETER.S.OCHIENG COMMITTEE 0726972673
LILIAN.A.OGENGA COMMITTEE 0722915328
FENTON OWINO COMMITTEE 0726396173
KEVIN ODEMBA COMMITTEE 0723271845
ASKER AKINYI COMMITTEE 072187085
HAROLD OLUMWA COMMITTEE 0725444795
ONYANGO FELIX COMMITTEE 0706810549
JOHN MIRUKA COMMITTEE 0717325361
DIGURU DIGUR COMMITTEE 071163919
ANTONY OCHIENG COMMITTEE 0725736715
Citizen Coalition for Constitutional Culture (4Cs) successfully hosted Migori County Citizens Forum in which the people affirmed their sovereign authority and made a declaration to the extent that they will secure devolution in its entirety especially given its promise to bring development to the people of Migori. They observed that for a long time the peoples milk has been turned into blood, honey turned into sweat and tears and bread turned into death and destruction through skewed allocation of recourses, mismanagement and exclusion of citizens from participating in gainful activities. They resolved that this time round the trend will be reversed and the County Citizen Forum had set the pace and mood for fundamental reorganization at all levels.
