TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2014

So what happened on May 31 at Uhuru Park? People spoke to their government

Supporters of the CORD coalition during a rally at Uhuru Park, Nairobi on May 31, 2014 after the coalition leader Raila Odinga arrived from the United States. DENISH OCHIENG (NAIROBI)  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

  • The opposition brought together like-minded Kenyans to exercise the constitutional right of the people to speak directly to the government, and sent a message directly to the Jubilee Government about their dissatisfaction with it.
  • No right thinking government would want to challenge the supremacy of the people over it by quoting parliamentary majorities and constitutional provisions against a rising tide of emotions and disaffection.
By PAUL MWANGI
More by this Author

Most of the views being proffered by Kenyans on both sides of the political divide on the significance of the Uhuru Park meeting on May 31 are parochial and narrow minded, limited to the short-term political interests of Jubilee and Cord.

To many observers, the day's events were a supremacy battle between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Raila Odinga.

It is correct the two do represent the opposing political viewpoints in this country but it would be too simplistic to see the whole issue in this light.

There are serious issues that lie behind the political competition between these two, and these go beyond the leaders who represent the view points. Something more significant happened at the rally at Uhuru Park.

In every constitutional democracy, the supremacy of the people is greater than any government or institution. The people retain the power to address their government or other institutions directly, though they have elected a National Assembly.

This they can do by petition, picketing or demonstrating. In extreme cases, they can resort to civil disobedience.

Article 37 of the Constitution says: "Every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities."

SUPREMACY OF THE PEOPLE

So fundamental is this doctrine of supremacy of the people that in the United States, their constitution provides that it is a constitutional right for the people to own and bear arms, for the reason that in the event of a dictatorship, they can lawfully form a militia against the tyrannical government.

The Second Amendment to the US constitution provides as follows:

"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

The Kenyan Constitution for the first time asserted the supremacy of the people over government, institutions and even the Constitution itself.

Article 1 (2) of the Constitution proves as follows: "The people may exercise their sovereign power either directly or through their democratically elected representatives."

So what happened at Uhuru Park last Saturday?

The opposition brought together like-minded Kenyans to exercise the constitutional right of the people to speak directly to the government, and sent a message directly to the Jubilee Government about their dissatisfaction with it.

Recognising the undisputed right of the people to demonstrate against the government, the Jubilee administration respected their right to do so and the police licensed the rally and provided security.

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE "HARD"

Similar meetings are planned all over the country. If they are all well-attended, then the message will be clear to the government that the people are not happy, and that regardless of how many legislators it controls, the people remain supreme and could resort to civil disobedience against it.

And no right thinking government would want to challenge the supremacy of the people over it by quoting parliamentary majorities and constitutional provisions against a rising tide of emotions and disaffection.

Unlike the view of many, the success of civil disobedience  actions against government is not based on the love or hate of political leaders. This is where it ceases being about "Uhuru" or "Raila". Success will depend on whether the people have a wide consensus on issues in the country.

If the masses cannot afford food any more, it doesn't matter how much they loved Uhuru and the Jubilee Government. The love ends when the children of their supporters die of hunger.

Yet if the people are not suffering enough, they will not dedicate themselves to protracted actions of civil disobedience however much they love Raila and the Cord leaders.

Civil disobedience is hard and demanding. It can take weeks and months. Only a totally "fed up" population can withstand the rigours of a civil disobedience initiative.

But when any sizeable part of the population is ready to subject itself to the demanding processes of civil disobedience unrelentingly, and over an indefinite period of time, it is always the end of the road for the government.

Mr Mwangi is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya (muragemwangi@yahoo.com)

Related Stories

6  HOURS AGO

KISERO: Why a successful Eurobond should ease pressure on the Kenya shilling

The advantage of capital markets is that the terms of borrowing and repayment are a public issue

  • 6  HOURS AGO NYANTINO: Use economic diplomacy to market Kenya