Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki formally signed the country's new Constitution into law today during a ceremony in Nairobi's Uhuru Park. Tens of thousands of people gathered to watch their leader promulgate the new document, amid gun salutes and a military parade.

Upon signing the Constitution, President Kibaki declared that "this moment marks the decisive conclusion of the twenty-year journey in search of a new constitutional order. This new Constitution is an embodiment of our best hopes, aspirations, ideals and values for a peaceful and more prosperous nation. The new Constitution gives us renewed optimism about our country and its future."

The debate over a new constitution has lasted 20 years. Some see its enactment into law as the most important event for Kenya since independence. "People are calling [this occasion] the rebirth - people are calling it the second republic," Kenyan Ambassador to the United States Elkanah Odembo told Foreign Policy magazine this week.
Kenyans have expressed great confidence in their government's commitment to successfully implement the new laws enshrined in the Constitution. A Daily Nation poll released Thursday showed 82 percent of Kenyans believe the government will work to bring about the country's democratic reforms.

The new Constitution, which won 67 percent of the vote in the August 4 referendum, promises to bring greater stability and prosperity to Kenya and the East African region. Among its many reforms, the new charter embraces the separation of powers, establishes a second chamber and a land commission to settle land disputes. It also establishes a Supreme Court and allows Kenyans to hold dual citizenship.

Foreign Policy and Daily Nation

Two weeks after the peaceful passage of its new Constitution, Kenya's economy is already experiencing a boost from increased tourism and foreign and local investor confidence.

East Africa's largest economy forecast 100 billion shillings of foreign and local investment for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, and then raised 156 billion shillings ($1.9 billion) during the period, Kenya Investment Authority Managing Director Susan Kikwai said. Given these figures, Kenya may well exceed the official projection of 100 billion shillings for the current fiscal year.

"With a little extra work we can achieve above our projection of 100 billion this year," Kikwai said. "We are helped by a new constitution."

Indeed, the Kenyan stock market has surged 40 percent since the beginning of the year. Investment in the Nairobi Stock Exchange, Africa's best-performing bourse this year, is likely to prolong a rally in Kenya's stock market through the rest of 2010, said the market's chief executive officer, Peter Mwangi.

"We just had a very successful referendum, which to my mind is a watershed event for us. There is a feel-good factor. There is a lot more optimism, a lot more investor confidence. The domestic investors are now much more active."

The tourism industry is also seeing increased activity now that travelers see Kenya as a safe travel destination following this month's historic referendum.

Kenya's tourist arrivals reached 483,000 in the first half of 2010, putting the country on track to beat record foreign visitor numbers set in 2007.

As tourism is Kenya's second-largest foreign exchange earner after horticulture and tea exports, these numbers bode well for the growth of the nation's economy. Tourism fell sharply following the 2008 global economic downturn and the violent aftermath of Kenya's 2007 elections, but the recent civil and democratic vote for the new Constitution is promising for the industry's resurgence.

The head of the Kenya Tourist Board, Muriithi Ndegwa, announced proudly, "We are fully recovered and on a growth trajectory."

Bloomberg and Reuters

Global economic leaders are rushing to establish diplomatic footholds in the East African Community and establish trade and investment pacts under the EAC's newly formed Common Market.

Since May, the United States, Japan, Turkey, Netherlands and Denmark have sent envoys to present their credentials to the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The countries are searching for deeper partnerships that would enable them tap into new opportunities in a market with a combined GDP of $79 billion.

"The EAC common market presents bigger opportunities than individual countries. It also presents a gateway to the region," EAC Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary David Nalo told Business Daily.

The United States and the EAC last year established a joint working group to spearhead co-operation initiatives and as a follow up to the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed between the U.S. and the EAC in July 2008.

TIFA's main role is to strengthen the U.S.-EAC trade and investment relationship, expand and diversify bilateral trade initiatives, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and improve the climate for business between the U.S. and the EAC.

In addition to economic opportunity, East Africa plays an important security role, serving as a bulwark against the instability of Somalia and the terror cells operating within its borders. In July 2009, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Jacob Lew toured the EAC headquarters and pledged his country's commitment to forging stronger relations with the region.

Business Daily

Free and fair
August 9, 2010

There are two reasons to hail the adoption of Kenya's new constitution, which won about two-thirds of the vote in a national referendum last week. The first cause for celebration is that the vote itself, and the campaign preceding it, took place, for the most part, peacefully.
This was far from predictable in a country whose last presidential election, in 2007, devolved into horrific ethnic violence that claimed the lives of 1,300 people. But the major political parties that have been governing in coalition since the upheaval basically kept their promises to keep the voting free and fair.

The second is the content of the constitution itself. It would turn Kenya into a more democratic and less centralized country than it has been under the laws bequeathed to it by Britain, the colonial power, before independence in 1963. The old system, with its overly powerful presidency, encouraged a winner-take-all political culture that, in turn, inflamed hostility and tension among the largest ethnic groups. This constitution limits the president's power, making him or her subject to impeachment. It also creates countervailing power centers, such as a Supreme Court and a Senate, and gives local authorities more autonomy.

With 40 million people and abundant natural resources, Kenya has tremendous potential for economic growth. Corruption and political repression, especially under former president Daniel arap Moi, have hindered its progress in recent years. The constitution will take five years to implement in full, but it raises the chances that Kenya can overcome its historical shortcomings and emerge as a leader in a region, East Africa, that badly needs some stability. This "significant step forward for Kenya's democracy," as President Obama described the ratification, is also a step toward closer cooperation between the United States and the country where Mr. Obama's father was born.

The Washington Post

Kenya's chance
August 8, 2010

A thousand dead; 300,000 displaced; a country on the brink of civil war: the results of Kenya's 2007 general election, marred by vote-rigging and violence, make grim reading. The country's latest trip to the polling booths has been altogether more positive. On August 4, Kenyans voted by a two-thirds majority for a new constitution.

Given the precedents, the mere fact that the vote was well organized and peaceful was a triumph. Backed by both Mwai Kibaki, the president, and Raila Odinga, his prime minister and bitter rival in 2007, Kenya's new constitution offers the country a chance of unity. But better still, it deals with some of the country's persistent problems.

The powers of the president will be curbed. Greater power will be devolved to Kenya's regions, which should both make local politicians more accountable and ensure tribes which miss out on the presidency still have a say in domestic affairs. The establishment of a committee with the power to repossess and redistribute land acquired illegally should ease the struggles of Kenya's landless youth. These changes should limit the scope for political patronage.

Caveats apply. In the Rift Valley, the source of the upheavals in 2007, the constitution was rejected as decisively as it was accepted elsewhere. The government forestalled violence by sending 10,000 police to the area before the vote. It must now also address the simmering discontent among the local Kalenjin majority who rejected the constitution due partly to fears that they are losing influence in their traditional heartland.

Kenya's constitution must still be ratified - clause by clause - by its parliament. This will offer ample scope for troublemaking. There are also limits to what constitutions can achieve. Kenya's latest offering will not in itself change the climate of corruption and impunity that hangs over political circles. No senior government figure has been tried for corruption in the last decade, despite an impressive array of candidates. This needs to change.

As Kenya heads towards elections in 2012, its allies should back its efforts at reform. In a region of troubled states wracked by instability and extremism, Kenya has immense significance as a broadly pro-western democracy, fragile as it is. Although previous bouts of optimism have been undermined by events, the country's sense of rebirth should be encouraged. The latest wind of change to sweep through the country could just bring lasting good.

Financial Times

US President Barack Obama congratulated Kenya today on its successful constitutional referendum vote as a "significant step forward."

"The United States congratulates the Kenyan people and government on the holding of a peaceful, transparent, and credible constitutional referendum," Obama said in a statement.

"This was a significant step forward for Kenya's democracy, and the peaceful nature of the election was a testament to the character of the Kenyan people."

The president said the new constitution's approval, by 69 percent, showed the desire of Kenyans to "put their country on a path toward improved governance, greater stability, and increased prosperity."

He pledged the United States would work with the international community "to support the implementation process, and to stand with the Kenyan people as they reach for a better future."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also praised Kenyans earlier today for turning out in large numbers to hold a peaceful vote, setting aside fears of a repeat of the chaos that marred the nation's last elections.

"Constitutional reform is the centerpiece of the reform agenda that Kenya has adopted for itself. It is aimed at addressing the underlying causes of violence," she told reporters as she stood next to Nigeria's visiting Foreign Minister Henry Odein Ajumogobia.

"I commend the people of Kenya for participating in large numbers and for exercising their right to vote in a peaceful manner," she said.

AFP