This archive report was first published on 6 August 2019.
On July 7, 1990, Kenyans took to the streets, calling for a return to multiparty democracy, marking a significant moment in the country's history. The ruling elites, however, have largely forgotten this day, instead focusing on ethnic calculations and power struggles.
Twenty-nine years ago, hundreds of Kenyans were killed by security forces and regime militia, but the exact number remains unknown. The ruling elites have failed to acknowledge this sacrifice, viewing history through an ethnic prism and reducing it to a series of contests for exclusive rights to national resources.
Debate is often derailed from considerations of policy, ideology, corruption, and governance, and instead turned into vitriol-filled outbursts of thinly veiled threats against individuals and groups. When challenged about their suitability for leadership positions, they claim that there is a conspiracy to stop their ethnic group from ascending to power.
However, a group of reformists and civil society activists are working to revive the ideals of Saba Saba. In Limuru, a gathering of battle-hardened reformists and 'Young Turks' in civil society came together to remember Saba Saba and assess the state of the nation.
Speakers decried the state of the nation, the existential threat posed by corruption, and the poverty of ideas caused by the small ethnic visions articulated by the political class. The conference resolved to reawaken the spirit of Saba Saba in order to ensure full implementation of the 2010 Constitution.
With the Punguza Mizigo Constitutional Amendments Bill making its rounds, this is an opportune time for alternative voices in the constitutional amendment debate. The reform movement, driven by the ideals of the 1990s, would help re-appropriate the constitutional discussion from the political class and return it to the people.
