Constitution: Will Kibaki use force?

[roughrider]

While we are still waiting to see what the YES challenge is like (holding rallies behind your home in Meru does not count as campaign); it behoves us to ask some tough questions.

In the unlikely event of a ‘YES’ win at the referendum what happens? Every legal scholar worth his salt has already said it will be high treason for Kibaki or anyone else to purport to declare the new constitution as law (these include state lawyers like Ringeera, Wako and Kaparo).

The current constitution simply does not have such provisions and must first be ammended.

And because it is illegal, such a presidential declaration cannot, should not and will not be respected. Kenyans will be under no obligation to respect or follow any such constitution. Unless of course we are forced to by the army and the police and others who can use force (mungiki?).

Unless all the markings of a forceful revolution by the yes camp are in place, even a yes vote on 21st November will have as much legal force as a bunch of bananas.

Unless people are jailed or shot dead... and the peace is violently destroyed, then forced, can a new constitution be enforced OUTSIDE the current one.

Unless somebody uses brute force to establish and force the new constitutional order outside the current one... even a yes win is a nullity ab inito.

Will Kibaki use that force? Can he? Your guess is a good as mine.

[roughrider]

Meanwhile as I said, I am thoroughly disappointed by the ‘YES’ team. At least they should offer a spirited challenge. So far we have seen nothing significant from them and yet we have not even started the real campaign for Orange.

But it is the small details happening in presumably YES strongholds that should tell you a lot of things:

1. There was war in Bungoma, ford-k territory as local MPs were pelted with oranges as they tried to sell bananas. In the end the crowds forced Wafula Wamunyinyi to declare that he would review his stand…Noah Wekesa has indicated that Kwanza residents are finding it hard to buy the ‘yes’ story. (These are the same MPs that are holding out for a 10 million campaign fund in two weeks time). I can tell you that Western Kenya will be the ‘revelation’ in this referendum. 3 years of broken promises, renewed corruption and ineptitude will fill the NO ballot box and break it asunder. Ford-K had better read the writing on the wall.

2. In Kisii there is even more serious trouble for Nyachae. Omingo Magara has ditched him after finding the ‘yes’ a hard sell. He has 152 councillors with him from Nyamira, Gucha and Kisii. And I’m not talking about the wider opposition led by the likes of Ongeri and Obure.

3. In Kajiado and Narok the Masaai are breathing fire. Whence goes our land? And is this the same government that clobbered morans at mai mahiu? Is it the same one that covered the cold blooded murder of Simeon Ole Sisina? Are they the same ones that sided with the British colonists to deny Masaai their rights to regain their land at the end of that 99 year agreement? Gideon Konchella was under fire for trying to bring banana business to Kajiado. The councillors and people made it clear there was no sale...

4. To hit Kalonzo Musyoka the ‘yessists’ had to go back in history and try to revive a case from 16 years ago. (Do we have a statute of limitations anywhere?) How crass? How utterly despicable? Are below the belt blows now acceptable in trying to cower the resolutely NO? Is that the sum total of the Kibaki reaction to kalonzo’s dare? To begin a campaign of witch-hunting and digging up the mud?

Haha.

[Onyango Oloo]

roughrider:

those of outside kenya appreciate those concrete facts you are swinging from the ground.

can you do us a favour and compile a cross-country report that paints a picture of the balance of forces between the orange and banana camps?

Onyango Oloo
Toronto

[roughrider]

Noblesse Oblige – I certainly will.

In a couple of days for now travel calls yet again… and it will be factual. I shan’t say things merely to promote oranges or denigrate bananas. Just a factual account from an observer…

My real pro-NO propaganda I will save until the YES groups starts to show some mettle.