HUNDREDS OF thousands of Kenyans braved the rain clouds and cold yesterday to witness the signing into law of the country’s new constitution, in what has been dubbed the most significant political event in the east African state since independence in 1963.
It was a ceremony marked by military pomp and traditional dance from many of Kenya’s 42 tribes. But the ceremony was overshadowed by the presence of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region. As a party to the ICC, Kenya was legally obliged to arrest President Bashir. Instead he was escorted into Uhuru Park, where the ceremony was taking place, by tourism minister Najib Balala, a fellow Muslim.
“Kenya will forever tarnish the celebration of its long-awaited constitution if it welcomes an international fugitive to the festivities,” said Elise Keppler, senior counsel in the international justice programme at Human Rights Watch. “Even worse, hosting al-Bashir would throw into question Kenya’s commitment to co-operate with the ICC in its Kenyan investigation.”
But Kenyans, who have been yearning for a change in the way the country’s politics is conducted, were in no mood to have the celebratory mood dampened.
People began to queue from 3am to get into Uhuru Park, even though the ceremony did not begin until 10.30am, when President Mwai Kibaki signed the new charter into law. “Today is a great day for Kenya,” said President Kibaki after taking a new oath of office, the smoke from a 21-gun salute hanging over the podium.
Hailing the new constitution as the beginning of “a second republic”, he said: “This is the most important day in the history of our nation since independence. As Kenyans, we should be proud of making history as one of the few nations in the world that have successfully replaced their constitution in peacetime.”
Almost 70 per cent of Kenyan voters endorsed the new constitution on August 4th, in a referendum that it is hoped will end the decades of tribalism and impunity that has tarnished Kenyan politics.
Richard Oyieke, listening to the ceremony on his mobile phone, said: “This constitution will bring us up as the same people, economically and socially.” Mr Oyieke, who was just five when Kenya won independence from Britain, added: “There will be no more tribes. Finally the country’s national resources will be shared amongst everyone without discrimination, whether they are from the same tribe as the president or not.”