Paper Information

There is great hope for many patriotic Kenyans who exercised their democratic and fundamental right to make an appointment with great history, in giving birth to a new constitution, that will create new legal and political frameworks to anchor the struggle of social justice and new democratic state in Kenya.

But the national question for progressive forces after 21-gun salute on 27 August 2010 to promulgate the new constitution is on how to build strong social movements to breathe life into the new constitutional text. As noted before and during this referendum campaign, Kenyans were mobilised individually to come and participate in the referendum vote – as happens every time during the general election.

It was only embryonic social movements like Warembo ni Yes, a young women’s alternative leadership platform created by Bunge La Mwananchi Women social movement that made the critical efforts to mobilise the collective women voters’ constituency in the referendum.

The history and limitation of individualised voters is inherent in representative liberal democracy, and the challenge of social justice activist and progressive political forces after coming of the new constitution is to move from this limitation of individualized voter and sham democracy to values of participatory democracy.

In a participatory democracy, the organised social forces of workers, peasants and women’s social movements participate in referendums or in voting women’s candidates for representation in bourgeoisie parliament. However they must also breathe life into the new constitution – by collective mobilisation and the creation of political consciousness through mass organisation and social movements that advance and anchor social struggle political programmes in demand for people’s livelihoods and access to the rights to food, quality education, shelter, quality healthcare and clean water for all – if the new constitution dispensation is to have meaning for many poor Kenyans...