The cheers at Uhuru Park on August 27, 2010, were more than a celebration of a new law; they marked the end of a long and difficult search for a Constitution that had taken years of political battles, broken promises and failed attempts.
As the late and former President Mwai Kibaki raised the document above his head, a 21-gun salute and a military parade filled the venue with celebration, marking one of the defining moments of his presidency.
With the signing, Kibaki brought to an end a 20-year struggle for constitutional change and offered the country a fresh start after the 2007/08 post-election violence that left more than 1,300 people dead and about 300,000 displaced.
The 2010 Constitution had been overwhelmingly approved by Kenyans in the August 4 referendum, paving the way for its promulgation.
For Kibaki, the achievement also fulfilled a promise made during the 2002 election campaign when the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), under his presidential candidacy, pledged to deliver a new Constitution within months of taking office.
That promise, however, would take years to become reality as political differences and competing interests repeatedly slowed the reform process.
Kibaki later described the moment through the formal declaration that brought the new law into force.
“I, Mwai Kibaki, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kenya, declare that the Constitution set out in the schedule shall be the new Constitution of Kenya, with effect from 27th August, the year 2010,” Kibaki said amid cheers from a huge crowd.
The journey had already suffered a major setback in 2005 when the proposed Constitution was rejected in a referendum. Then Opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta joined Raila and other Narc leaders in opposing the draft, handing Kibaki a major political defeat.
The disagreement had roots in the 2002 campaign, when Kibaki and Raila had pledged to introduce a Constitution that would create the position of prime minister.
After Narc won the election, however, Raila’s side accused Kibaki of abandoning the agreement and refusing to reduce the powers of the presidency. The dispute spilled into the 2005 referendum, while Cabinet ministers who opposed the proposed law were sacked.
The failed vote also gave rise to the Orange Democratic Movement party.
The late President Mwai Kibaki during the promulgation of the new Constitution on August 27, 2010.
A long road to reform
The Constitution Kenya inherited at independence had been negotiated with Britain in the early 1960s. Over the years, it was changed in ways that increased the power of the Executive, particularly during the Kanu era, which faced accusations of electoral injustice, human rights abuses and attacks on dissenting voices.
The repeal of Section 2A in 1991, under President Daniel arap Moi, restored multiparty politics following pressure locally and internationally. Problems surrounding the 1992, 1997 and 2007 elections added to the push for wider reforms.
In 1998, Raila successfully moved a motion in Parliament seeking the creation of a select committee to review the Constitution. He chaired the committee, which helped establish the legal framework for the review process.
A team of commissioners led by Prof Yash Pal Ghai was later appointed, with the process moving to the Bomas of Kenya, where a draft Constitution was prepared.
According to Raila, disagreements later split the delegates, with some walking out before going to court to stop the commission from presenting the draft to Parliament.
The 2004 Constitution, commonly known as the Bomas Draft, was later taken to Kilifi, where it was changed by the government side to produce what became known as the Wako Draft, named after then Attorney General Amos Wako.
Raila campaigned against the proposal in the 2005 referendum following his fallout with Kibaki.
A study titled Kenya: The struggle for a new constitutional order by the Nordic Africa Institute and the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi described the reform journey as having faced repeated political interference and manipulation.
The study said the push that began in the mid-1990s encountered several setbacks, including the failure of the Narc government to deliver the constitutional reforms it had promised after coming to power in 2002.
From crisis to consensus
The 2007/08 post-election violence gave fresh urgency to the constitutional review process after Raila rejected the election results, citing rigging.
The crisis led to the National Accord, negotiated through former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, after which the constitutional review process resumed.
A team later met in Naivasha to refine the draft and prepare it for the final stage.
Kibaki, Raila and Uhuru, who had supported Kibaki during the 2007 election, joined forces in backing the “Yes” campaign ahead of the 2010 referendum.
William Ruto, then a Cabinet minister, joined a group of church leaders in campaigning against the proposed Constitution.
The “Yes” side eventually won, clearing the final path for the new Constitution and setting the stage for the historic August 27, 2010 ceremony at Uhuru Park.
For Kibaki, the moment became one of the major achievements of his presidency and the culmination of a constitutional reform journey that had survived years of political disagreements, failed votes and national crisis.