NEW LAWS WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS...???

Today, the country is no longer dealing with what if ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ wins or loses. Kenya has a new constitution that is entirely driven by the wishes of the majority of the people. It is a logical progression from the Lancaster House Constitution that ushered in Independence, and the first republic, from British colonialism in 1963. This journey to the uncharted tomorrow began yesterday when the Interim Independent Electoral Commission declared the official results of the national referendum vote conducted on Wednesday. Following the people’s verdict, and as arbiters in the adoption and promulgation of the new constitutional order, it is now imperative for the political leadership and all stakeholders of this beloved nation, the people, to seize the opportunity and turn a new leaf of facing the realities of implementation. The easy part of this onerous national duty — of lobbying, talking, campaigning and voting — is over. The next is learning to live with the new order, restructuring the State, actualising reasonable expectations of the electorate and resolving the fears associated with the new constitution. The hard part, which requires nationalistic, conciliatory and transitional leadership, will be the greatest test for the new constitutional dispensation. The country shall be looking up to President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the whole political leadership to provide sound direction on this new frontier. Public interest The next step will even be harder, especially reconciling the expectations of the majority and the fears of the minority in a country where both groups have to — and must — live, and learn to live with one another. There is, to be sure, only one Kenya for all Kenyans.