Lead image for A republic cannot be renewed by spectators.
We Kenyans have become accomplished critics of the State. We condemn corruption, lament failing services and demand accountability. Yet we sometimes seek personal connections when procedures inconvenience us, excuse wrongdoing when it benefits our community or political side, and remain silent when institutions to which we belong violate the standards we demand from government.
This is not to distribute responsibility equally.
Public officials exercise legal authority, control public resources and command the coercive power of the State. Their obligation is therefore greater. But Kenya cannot renew its institutions while citizens and the institutions of society remain spectators.
Our Constitution begins from a different premise. Sovereign power belongs to the people, and every person has an obligation to respect, uphold and defend the Constitution. Citizenship is therefore more than voting, paying taxes, posting criticism or joining demonstrations. These matter, but sovereignty must also be organised.
Encouraging signs are emerging. In July, the Law Society of Kenya called a nationwide boycott of court proceedings to demand action over alleged corruption, misconduct and delays in the Judiciary. Lawyers used the particular power of their profession to insist that judicial independence cannot mean freedom from accountability.
Young Kenyans have also turned dissatisfaction into democratic participation. Niko Kadi made voter registration a civic movement rather than an administrative chore. The People’s IEBC has gone further by developing a citizen-led platform for independent verification and tallying of polling-station results. During the Ol Kalou by-election, it verified and tallied Forms 35A from 93 of the constituency’s 144 polling stations.
The initiative cannot replace the constitutional IEBC and must itself meet rigorous standards of accuracy, transparency and political independence. But it demonstrates citizens building capacity to safeguard institutions rather than merely distrusting them.