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By Mzalendo Contributor - Moreen Majiwa (@mmajiwa)
In the last few days the Kikuyu, Kamba, Kalenjin (KKK) alliance formed by Eldoret MP Willam Ruto, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Deputy Vice President Uhuru Kenyatta has dominated the headlines.
As yet it is difficult to determine what exactly the alliance is. Whether it is a party in waiting or whether it will be a coalition of three different parties representing the three different communities.
If it is the intention of the three leaders of the KKK to eventually transform the as yet undefined alliance into a political party or a coalitional of parties based on ethnicity this would be both unconstitutional and illegal.
Part 3 of Chapter 7 of the new constitution that deals with political parties clearly states in Article 91 (1) (a) that every party shall have a national character as prescribed by an Act of Parliament. While parliament is yet to legislate on the exactly what constitutes ‘national character,’ it is safe to a assume that in a nation of 47 ethnic groups a coalition or party made of just of three of the forty seven does not met the requirement of being national in character. Not only does the KKK not meet the basic requirement of being national in character by excluding the 44 of the 47 ethnic groups, but such an alliance is also flies in the face of the rest of Article 91 (2) that requires that political parties not be founded on regional or ethnic basis.
Furthermore, the formation of an alliance based on ethnicity also falls foul of the concept of national cohesion and integration enshrined in the National Cohesion & Integration Act of 2008 and yet the National Cohesion & Integration Commission seems to be silent.
Negative ethnicity has played and continues to play a detrimental role in Kenyan politics and most Kenyans want to break away from this past and to change this dangerous state of affairs. This desire is enshrined in the new constitution and the National Cohesion & Integration Act. Alliances such as the KKK take us back to a bygone era and have no place in present day Kenya.
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