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Events of the past week have seen the re-emergence of pitched street battles, pitting the advocates of a new constitutional order against the police.
On Saturday, Katiba Watch leaders and their supporters defied a police ban and got out in their numbers to attend a rally planned for Nairobi's Uhuru Park, which had been cancelled in the last minute. They were met with brute police force that triggered violence and destruction.
Thereafter, there were calls for more rallies. Thus, what had started as a simple initiative by the Katiba Watch to push for the enactment of a new constitution immediately, is taking a life of its own.
This was well illustrated by the violence that rocked Kisumu on Wednesday, when hoodlums took to the streets under the guise of campaigning for a new constitution and caused mayhem. In the ensuing battles with police, one person lost his life while 19 others were injured.
As was the case last Saturday in Nairobi, the use of excessive force by the police against the Kisumu youths, including firing live bullets, worsened things.
Clearly, the police have not learnt to deal with riots in any other way besides unleashing violence, a sad carry-over from the dark Kanu days. By the look of things, the situation is likely to get worse when the lobby rolls out its planned meetings across the country. But we should not allow things to degenerate. More can be done to avert street battles and anarchy.
The first is that the Government must realise it is in a major crisis and seek a genuine solution. It has to take charge and also restrain its police against brutality.
On the face of it, the protesters have been floating the enactment of a new constitution as their main demand. But it is clear there are many undertones. The people are beginning to send a vote of no confidence in the Kibaki administration for failing to meet most of its election pledges. So, besides providing a way out of the constitutional review impasse, President Kibaki must deal decisively with the excesses in his government.
Secondly, the lobbyists must learn moderation. They need to understand that a constitution is never written in the streets or at Uhuru Park. Moreover, they must be ready to take the blame for all the destruction that could be caused by their over-enthusiastic followers.
We cannot talk of writing a new constitution with all this tension. All parties must agree to an immediate ceasefire.
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