The Building Bridges Initiative task force report is a serious indictment on government for failing to fully and faithfully implement reforms in the 2010 Constitution.
The report exposes how disregard for the legislative, structural, political and economic reforms agreed on during the 2008 Kofi Annan-led National Dialogue and Reconciliation framework remains the fundamental root cause of recurring electoral and political conflict.
It offers nothing new and substantive to warrant constitutional amendment and a referendum. The report's recommendations require administrative and legislative actions with sufficient political goodwill to succeed.
The BBI task force must have arrived at the conclusion that the country has enough laws and institutions that are never implemented. And therefore it gave a roadmap on how those laws and institutions should be enforced.
The Annan mediation long-term issues that needed expeditious implementation would not only have addressed the root causes of the crisis but also deepened and broadened Kenya's democratic foundations.
The nine BBI thematic issues the task force was tasked with only needed constitutional enforcement by relevant government institutions.
Various provisions of the 2010 Constitution address all the issues the BBI team was tasked with as stated in the ‘Handshake’ statement.
For instance, Article 10 gives the national values and principles of governance, in which ethnicity is not included.
Article 27 on equality and freedom from discrimination expressly prohibits the state or any individual from discriminating against a person directly or indirectly on the grounds of ethnicity.
There is no exception for political parties; Article 91 (2) provides that a political party shall not be founded on an ethnic basis or engage in advocacy of hatred on that basis.
Articles 1, 10, 6 and Chapters 12, 130, 174 and 232 address solidly issues of devolution, inclusion and diversity.
The provisions of Chapter 6 on leadership and integrity address the issue of corruption. Ensure compliance with its provisions and you address the deeper problem of institutional failure in fighting corruption.
Rights and responsibilities have been addressed in Chapter 4 on the Bill of Rights, whereas safety and security are addressed in Chapter 14 on national security.
This article is an abridged version of the International Centre for Policy and Conflict executive director's statement
