Debate on Draft Constitution

I support the effort that has been made towards getting a new constitution for Kenya. I have not managed to read through the draft that has been distributed free and when I try to I cannot comprehend some of the vocabulary used. It is very confusing for the common mwananchi (citizen) to understand.

Members of parliament are currently debating the Draft Constitution; issues like Devolution, Abortion, and Kadhi’s court are some of the contentious issues in this draft. What I expect from the new constitution as a common citizen and I believe is what many Kenyans want is a President who is not very powerful. We have seen what powerful Presidency has done for this Country. We do not want to feel like the Country is owned by one person or a particular group yet the Country is for all of us. We elect the President then later he becomes too powerful for those who put him in office. Presidents should not serve more than one term otherwise they become dictators.

The constitution should protect us from the problems we faced during the last election. We need assurance in order to register again as voters in the on going exercise, waiting to vote confidently in 2012. A President who does not uphold democracy should be voted out through Parliament before he finishes his term.

About abortion, I believe that abortion is murder and should not be legalized in Kenya. Many who advocate for abortion to be legalized because of rape and incest forget that most of the women who abort have not been raped or cases of incest. Many of them get pregnant knowing, there are all sorts of contraceptives to prevent pregnancy. Prevention is better than cure. On Kadhi’s court I have never understood clearly why this is a contentious issue, because we are told it has been in the current constitution for years. I am a Christian and in Kenya there is freedom of worship. So long as these courts do not interfere with my faith and my freedom as a Kenyan, I do not see it as problem that should stop us from getting a new constitution.

As a Kenyan who has waited for a new Constitution for years, I hope and pray the contentious issues will be resolved as soon as possible.

Muthurwa Estate - Kenyan Bus stop/Market (corrected copy)

It was a good idea when the Kenyan government moved the hawkers and small business people from the town centre to a central place called Muthurwa. I don’t know what Muthurwa means in native Kenyan languages, but the name sound funny and abusive. If you have never gone there the sound of that name alone can discourage you. It is not a good place from the sound of it.In reality that is true.Muthurwa is not nice.

Yes whenever I pass through Muthurwa from Eastlands of Nairobi, I see real chaos, Many buses and matatus packed in no order at all. Trading taking place in all places that you cannot get a place to step on. The hygiene standards are very poor.

Yes that was not all! Muthurwa estate nearby is a real shame, Real shame I say. Those houses are old and about to fall with any drop of rain of blow of wind,in fact the estate has very tall old trees, some have fallen on houses after heavy downpour. You may think that human beings do not stay there. The latrines are few,sinking and stinking, rotten, smelling and bad in all meaning of the word. The road matatus use to the busstop is in a terrible shape.

I cannot understand what is happening and this is just a stone throw distance from the town centre. Can the government just get rid of this estate because it is a big shame to our country? I feel for those staying there, if Rift Valley Railways bought the houses from Kenya Railways and cannot make proper use of the property, the Government should come in and move the people elsewhere and make proper use of the land.