Since President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga shook hands on March 9, the opposition leader has argued that without unity and without constitutional changes, Kenya cannot develop. Raila further argues the constitutional changes should change our system of governance from presidential to parliamentary. That if we don’t change into a parliamentary system, no person from any of our small communities will ever become President. Kenya, he says, will therefore never have political inclusivity and will forever remain a dictatorship of the ethnic majority.
The proposed constitutional changes are sought to assist Raila win power, and are opposed to helping William Ruto become President. If we support or oppose these changes, let us do so for logical not illogical reasons, for public not selfish reasons and for national not ethnic reasons.
While the parliamentary system has many advantages that could persuade many Kenyans vote for it, the presidential system is not responsible for all our problems. It is certainly not the only reason why someone poor person or someone from a small community may not become President.
History informs that under presidential system, Daniel Moi became President, despite coming from the Tugen, a small community in the Kalenjin ethnic conglomeration.
It is also true that although Nelson Mandela came from the Xhosa, one of South Africa’s big ethnic communities, and President Jacob Zuma came from the Zulu, another big community, Cyril Ramaphosa comes from the Venda, a small ethnic group. Yet South Africa has a presidential political system.
Tanzania also has presidential system, where the President appoints the Prime Minister. However, Julius Nyerere, its first and most famous President, was from the Zanaki, which is not one of the big communities in the country.
Barack Obama became President from the racial minority with a presidential system.
The problem Kenya has is exclusion of the poor and small communities, not because of its presidential system but because of its capitalism, which exploits and excludes the economically and politically weak. Kenya’s capitalism engenders poverty, kills nationalism and propagates negative ethnicity, which encourages communities to exploit, discriminate and cannibalize each other.
It therefore follows that true cause of exclusion in Kenya is not the presidential system but capitalism and negative ethnicity. Even if we changed our political system today and do nothing to eradicate negative ethnicity, wealthy individuals will discriminate against the poor, while the big and small communities discriminate against one another.
To eradicate this exclusion and discrimination by the elites, nationalism must take the place of negative ethnicity in our politics and economy. Only then will it be possible for persons from small communities to survive discrimination.
Let us also remember that just as being a big community does not make its people better, if they are infected with negative ethnicity, being a small community does also not make its masses better if this virus remains.
With the scourge and ideology of negative ethnicity, Kenyans have suffered both from the leadership of the Kikuyus and the Tugen, or the Kalenjin, if you like. It is false, therefore, to make Kenyans believe all we need is a parliamentary system or a small community in the top leadership.
When Moi became President, many believed that would be the end of all our problems. However, poverty increased, dictatorship became more brutal, negative ethnicity sharpened and the country was completely ruined. We should have learnt from both Jomo Kenyatta and Moi that negative ethnicity in power does not solve problems.
Let us change our Constitution and system from presidential to parliamentary, only if we believe it will solve our problems and will be more representative. Any system we adopt should make us more Kenyan, not substitute the rule by a big community with that of the minority. We need a government of Kenyans, by Kenyans and for Kenyans.