KENYA: Parliament votes for strong presidency

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

NAIROBI, 22 Jul 2005 (IRIN) - The Kenyan parliament voted on Thursday against proposed constitutional amendments that would have curbed the powers of the president and established a strong prime minister.

The vote, taken during a heated late night parliamentary session, was endorsed after three days of street battles between the police and protestors that left one man dead and several injured. The police also arrested many of the protestors.

Opposition leaders reacted angrily to the vote, saying it left the president with sweeping powers, a factor they blamed for the rampant corruption and poor governance of Kenya’s two previous governments.

The recommendations passed by parliament effectively negate several clauses in the "Bomas" draft constitution presented by a constitutional conference in 2004.

The Bomas draft suggested appointing a powerful prime minister to the executive in an attempt to curb presidential powers. The draft constitution passed on Thursday maintains the post of prime minister, but with less power than the "Bomas" draft proposed.

The current document will be presented to Kenyans in a referendum later this year.

The government of President Mwai Kibaki was elected in 2002 based, among other things, on a promise that it would deliver a new constitution to Kenyans within 100 days of entering office.

Should the population approve the new constitution in the upcoming referendum, Kenyans could have a new constitution before the end of 2005.

The government has been heavily criticised for its handling of this week's protests in the capital, Nairobi, with rights groups and civil society organisations accusing it of being heavy-handed and using unnecessary force in dispersing the demonstrators.

"The government very clearly attacked the people's right to peaceful assembly," said Kepta Ombati, a member of the National Convention Executive Council, a pro-reform coalition of political parties and NGOs that helped to organise the mass action.

"We hold them fully responsible for the life that was lost during the violence," he added.

However, government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the police acted within the law to protect ordinary citizens' lives and property.

He told IRIN: "The government cannot condone any form of violence, so when protestors pick up stones and throw them at the police, when they begin breaking windows and looting, it is the duty of the police to restore law and order and stop the mayhem."

[ENDS]