A gnat flew over the grassland with much buzzing for so small a creature and settled on the tip of one of the horns of a Bull. After he had rested a short time, he made ready to fly away.
But before he left he begged the Bull’s pardon for having used his horn for a resting place. “You must be very glad to have me go now,” he said. “It’s all the same to me,” replied the Bull. “I did not even know you were there.”
It is clear that the opposition in the country has lost direction and is now just speaking and acting without making any sensible impact. The lack of a proper structure for the opposition is what is making Kenyans and the government not feel anything that the opposition is doing.
Last week, President Ruto stated that the constitution can be amended without a referendum to allow former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to join parliament and Martha Karua to join the senate. Attorney General Justin Muturi echoed his sentiments stating that there would be no legal hurdle to the implementation of this provision.
The proposal would see Raila Odinga who was the presidential candidate for the opposition join the National Assembly while his running mate Martha Karua would join the Senate.
Let’s be honest here, this is an unprecedented proposal by a sitting president to give powers to those that will oversight his government. It shows that his government is ready to be held accountable through clean and formal structures.
In a letter to Parliament in December, the President proposed that MPs consider an amendment to Chapter nine, Part IV of the Constitution to establish the office of the Leader of Opposition.
A robust and institutionalized opposition is critical for the country’s democracy. The minority positions in Parliament are not enough for the opposition to work in a manner that can effectively check the government of the day.
If we are honest enough, it is clear that the current system where an opposition leader is left without a formal role after losing elections has not worked for us as a country.
When we enacted the 2010 Constitution, we borrowed heavily from the American system but this has clearly not worked and it is time that we rethink it and amend the Constitution.
We should borrow what is in most of the Commowealth where the opposition leader has a role anchored in law and leads the opposition side of Parliament even beyond the election.
While the Westminister model is mostly adopted by those countries that have Parliamentary systems, we can as well adopt it to fit our presidential system. It is important that we fashion our system in a manner that works for us and grows our democracy.
Having Raila and Karua join Parliament has several advantages to it with the first being the formalization of the opposition in the country. Instead of them shouting at the government in rallies, they can use the Parliamentary structures to ensure that that the government works.
If Raila and Karua were in Parliament, they would not be organizing rallies and mobilizing their support for cheap political theatrics. The only solution to end this cycle as we have witnessed since 2013, is to ensure that those who lose the presidential election are accommodated within the system.
It also goes without saying that in the current state, Kenya needs an opposition that can actually offer alternatives in the form of policies and effectively challenge those tabled by the government.
Additionally, having the two in Parliament is of great advantage given their many years as MPs in the past. The country can benefit heavily from their experience as senior political leaders and they can help enhance the country’s democracy.
As I wrote on this column last week, a well structured opposition has many benefits for Kenya and the current opposition needs to move away from sideshows and get organized.
The opposition will not get organized without having proper and strong leadership especially in Parliament. It is difficult for opposition MPs to stay organized when their leaders are outside the House and is not guided by proper structures.
ENDS…
(The writer is a political and communications consultant. Twitter @MachelWaikenda)
