Thread by @acrowinghen

A constitutional crisis is brewing in Kenya. It has a lot to do with #genderquotas and #patriarchy. Here's why:
1/22

On 21 September, Kenya's Chief Justice D.K. Maraga advised President Kenyatta to dissolve parliament due to its failure to implement a constitutional clause on gender representation. 2/22 kenyalaw.org/kenyalawblog/c…

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 Article 27(b) requires: "the State shall take legislative and other measures to implement the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender." 3/22 constituteproject.org/constitution/K…

On four separate occasions, the High Court of Kenya has ruled against the Parliament, setting deadlines for it to adopt requisite legislation for the #twothirds gender rule. 4/22

In 2017, the High Court warned that if Parliament failed to comply, "the Petitioners or any other person shall be at liberty to petition the Honourable the Chief Justice to advise the President to dissolve Parliament." 5/22 kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/…

The Chief Justice's advice to the president comes in response to six separate petitions calling for the dissolution of parliament on grounds that it has failed to comply with its duties regarding the #twothirds gender rule. 6/22
kenyalaw.org/kenyalawblog/c…

Thus, a constitutional crisis has been looming since at least 2016, when Parliament completely reneged on its obligations to establish legislation on the #twothirds gender rule. 7/22

Since 2011, the Kenyan Parliament has considered at least 10 different bills aimed at achieving the #twothirds gender rule. Three of these are still pending. 8/22

Most of the proposed bills on the #twothirds gender rule failed because they sought to amend the constitution - something that requires a two-thirds majority of the MPs in both chambers. 9/22

In both 2016 and 2019, bills brought by Majority Leader Aden Duale failed due to a lack of quorum. (Male) MPs who boycotted the vote could be found celebrating in the National Assembly Private Members' bar. 10/22 standardmedia.co.ke/kenya/article/…

As Chief Justice Maraga stated in his advice: the Parliament has demonstrated a “lackadaisical attitude” toward its obligations on the #twothirds gender rule driven by “cultural resistance to the transformational ideas on gender equality in the Constitution”. 11/22

Several proposed bills, including one pending in the Senate, propose a controversial "top up" formula. This would allow additional seats until the two-thirds mandate is met, by drawing from party nominated lists. 12/22

But critics warn that this will put undue burden on taxpayers. Kenyan MPs are among the highest paid in the world and the "wage bill" often spurs contentious debates. 13/22 the-star.co.ke/siasa/2019-05-…

Others argue that the top-up formula allows party members to give seats to their "mistresses" and "girlfriends". There is no evidence that such a practice is widespread in the county assemblies or the Senate where top-up seats are already in place. 14/22

To the contrary, research by @NDI shows that nominated women go on to compete for directly elected positions and are often "more qualified and committed to their positions". 15/22 ndi.org/sites/default/…

The most promising attempt to realize the #twothirds gender rule - The Representation of Special Interest Groups Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 - passed the National Assembly in March. It now awaits a 2nd reading in the Senate, which was due in June. 16/22 tinyurl.com/y5g253erw

Yet, the Representation of Special Interest Groups Bill requires political parties to nominate one-third of either gender. Such "candidate quotas" are difficult to implement in single-member district systems. And they do not guarantee a #twothirds threshold will be met. 17/22

What remains unclear is how long President Kenyatta has to respond to the CJ advice. In the past, he has expressed doubts about #genderquotas. 18/22 nation.africa/kenya/news/pol…

And in a rare show of unity, opposition leader Raila Odinga has also urged caution, questioning whether dissolution of parliament would solve anything. 19/22 nation.africa/kenya/news/pol…

Regardless, a failure to dissolve parliament signals contempt for a constitution that took decades and bloodshed. It signals a lack of respect for the will of the Kenyan people and basic institutions of the state. 20/22

At the same time, dissolving parliament during a global pandemic risks allowing for executive overreach, as it is unclear when/how by-elections could be held. Kenya has reported over 37k Covid-19 infections, 682 deaths. 21/22

https://twitter.com/MOH_Kenya/status/1309508717403164679

For now, it is reassuring to know that Kenya's active and tireless civil society organizations - like the @lawsocietykenya and @CMDKenya - stand ready to hold their government accountable. 22/22 nation.africa/kenya/news/lsk…