Skewed policies endanger the African child                         Photo Courtesy

Kenya faces a defining moment in August on its constitutional future. Sectarian interest groups of all sheds have coalesced around their interpretation of the proposed law to dissuade Kenyans from voting for a new constitutional order. I have received a petition from an American based Pro – Life Group (The Howard Center) pushing for a NO vote. It wants us to vote against the proposed new constitution, as a sign of solidarity with the unborn child.

Long before Western values cut the umbilical code that connected the Africans to their ancestral names - after heroes, heroines and the dead, the rights of the unborn were not in question. The threat to the unborn child’s life started when the conquering masters religiosity insisted on our assigning names to the newly born after biblical and mythical heroes and heroines from the West. The incessant push by parents to have their offspring name children after them, uncles, aunties and ancestors was met by stiff family planning initiatives that were informed by myths of population explosion in Africa.

At independence, a constitutional order that sought to sustain Western influence rewarded collaborators and disenfranchised ethnic communities of the new entity known as Kenya that was established. For over 47 years, the disenfranchised Kenyans have battled to create systems that can enable each one to participate effectively in matters of state and country building. Meanwhile every election time has come to mark a period of bloodbath that destroys hundreds of lives of the already born.

The economic disparities created by the colonial winner-take-it-all constitutional order has put more pressure on individuals and families to such extent that Kenyans are forced to live with wanton cases of fetuses in garbage bins. This cannot be fixed by merely signing a petition to maintain the status quo in the country. Those blaming President Barack Obama should remember he was nowhere in the late 80s when Kenyans initiated a full scale call for reforms in the country.

Indigenous African populations may not have the monetary power to counter the well oiled Western value exporting machines, but when it comes to the rights of the unborn child, Africa might have a lot to teach the West. Kenyans must vote YES to give individuals and ethnic communities a chance to participate in and build a new Kenya. The best solidarity for the unborn child is through a new constitutional order that affords more socio-political and economic opportunity for the child’s parent(s). That is what the proposed constitution offers Kenyans.

By James Shikwati

James Shikwati  [email protected]  is Director of Inter Region Economic Network.