The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.

Standard Group Plc HQ Office,
The Standard Group Center,Mombasa Road.
P.O Box 30080-00100,Nairobi, Kenya.
Telephone number: 0203222111, 0719012111
Email: [email protected]

NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Premium

Why Kenya needs official leader of opposition who's a state officer

Opinion

By Silvanus Sewe | Jan 18, 2025

Chapter One of the 2010 Constitution sets the foundation of the country’s governance systems. It states clearly that sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and they may exercise their sovereign authority directly or through their democratically elected representatives.

One of the most fundamental decisions where people under the rule of the political system participate directly, is electing their political representatives. If a majority is ordinarily to prevail, what is to constitute a proper majority? A majority of all citizens? A majority of voters? Should a proper majority comprise not individual citizens but certain groups or associations of citizens?

Should the winner take it all or what role should the losers and their leader play in governing? What political institutions will they need? Do you only need the government of the day or do you also need a constitutional opposition leader?

The sovereign power is delegated to Parliament, the national and executive structure in the country’s government, the Judiciary and the Independent tribunals. It further states that the sovereign power of the people is exercised at the national and county levels.

From the chapter, it is evident that there is a need to balance power and authority to enhance the checks and balances of national governance systems. The governance system should have leaders as state officers and bureaucrats who are public officers as guided by chapters six and thirteen respectively when implementing the Constitution.

Keep Reading business

The leaders enjoy direct power from the people while bureaucrats exercise authority delegated to them through the constitutional governance system. Governance is balancing power and authority to enable both leaders and bureaucrats to deliver on the functions stipulated in the Constitution at both levels. Both leaders and bureaucrats are responsible and accountable for the promises they give Kenyans. Despite this constitutional guidance Kenya keeps experiencing abuse of power because of constitutional gaps. When citizens are divided on an issue, as they often will, whose views should prevail, and in what circumstances?

Should a majority always prevail, or should minorities sometimes be empowered to block or overcome majority rule? As a unique country where our elections are normally hotly contested with margins being less than 200,000 votes, between the winner and the loser, normally results in having a very influential and powerful person outside the governance system, without clear responsibility and accountability to anyone.

It promotes the winner-takes-it-all-all system forgetting that leadership is about people, with over 47 per cent of the casted, who need to be constitutionally managed.

Lack of a system to manage this powerful person makes someone feel comfortable running for the presidency, not to win but to acquire informal power to champion their interest. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has served in several governments because he enjoys this informal power, yet he is not responsible or accountable to any governance system. Thus, he chooses when to join the government and when to leave as a person.

To remedy this, we need to amend the Constitution and introduce the position of leader of the opposition as a state office and the holder to be a state officer, funded by the exchequer.

This individual will be bonded by chapter six of the Constitution and denies the unilateral decision to choose when to join and leave government. Like other leaders with constitutional mandates, the holder of the office needs a constitutional function with clear roles and responsibilities stipulated under Schedule Four, which should assess his performance after his term ends.

Kenya can take a leaf from the UK whose Constitution has a well-defined shadow cabinet. It offers oversight to the official Prime Minister’s cabinet and is fully funded by the taxpayers. With this review, the office will have both power and authority over the oversight function under the Constitution and will not take Kenyans for a ride.