ethnicity, human rights and constitutionalism in africa

254 Pages·2008·2 MB·English

ETHNICITY, HUMAN RIGHTS
AND
CONSTITUTIONALISM IN AFRICA
We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic.
Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams
Jimmy Carter
{ 39th US President, 1977-1981 - Nobel prize for peace in 2002}

ETHNICITY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN AFRICA

Published by:
The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists
P.O. Box 59743-00200 Nairobi, Kenya
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ISBN NO 9966-958-18-5
© The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists, 2008
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ETHNICITY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN AFRICA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ABBREVIATIONS.........................................................................................................vii
2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.............................................................................................viii
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................ix
4. EDITOR’S PREFACE.......................................................................................................1
5. POST-COLONIAL NATION-BUILDING AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN AFRICA....5
5.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................5
5.2 Post-colonial nation-building: Its nature and institutional implications..........................7
5.2.1 Two approaches to nation-building..........................................................................7
5.2.2 The option chosen by post-colonial African states...................................................8
5.3 The institutional implications.........................................................................................10
5.3.1 The rejection of accommodative structures of governance: Centralization of state
power................................................................................................................................10
5.3.2 The rise of one party rule........................................................................................12
5.4 The crisis of national integration....................................................................................14
5.4.1 Inequality, antagonism and division at the political and economic spheres..........14
5.4.2 Cultural domination and exclusion.........................................................................16
5.5 Conclusion: Multiethnic nation-building as an alternative...........................................21
6. CONSTITUTIONALISM AS A PANACEA TO ETHNIC DIVISIONS IN KENYA:
A POST 2007 ELECTION CRISIS PERSPECTIVE......................................................24
6.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................24
6.2 Conceptual framework...................................................................................................25
6.3 The constitutionalism doctrine and management of ethnicity: The practice..................27
6.4 Conclusion......................................................................................................................35
7. DEVOLUTION OF POWER AS CONSTITUTIONALISM: THE CONSTITUTIONAL
DEBATE AND BEYOND.............................................................................................36 
7.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................36
7.3 Devolution and its promise............................................................................................40
7.1.1 Democratic governance..........................................................................................41
7.1.2 Equitable development............................................................................................42
7.1.3 Self governance, less government?.........................................................................43
7.2 Devolution and its discontents.......................................................................................43
7.2.1 Limitations of local accountability.........................................................................42
7.2.2 Fostering inequities................................................................................................45
7.2.3 Capture by local elites............................................................................................46
7.3 Ethnic nationalism and state disintegration....................................................................47
7.4 Devolution of power in Kenya: Some historical antecedents........................................49
7.5 Repositioning the debate: Devolution as constitutionalism?.........................................53
7.6 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................56
8. FEDERALISM AND THE ETHNICITY QUESTION IN KENYA: LIMITS, FEARS
AND PROSPECTS.........................................................................................................59
8.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................59
8.2 From denial of ethnicity to manipulation.......................................................................62
8.3 Ethnicity and political power play..................................................................................63
8.3 Understanding federalism..............................................................................................64
8.4 Federalism in practice: Ethnic and multicultural arrangements - Ethnic based
federalism in Ethiopia.................................................................................................66
8.5 Other forms of federalism..............................................................................................68
8.6 Federalism as a necessary framework for organizing power in Kenya.........................69
8.7 Accommodating claims based on ethnicity....................................................................71
8.9 Conclusion......................................................................................................................75
9. ETHNIC CONFLICT IN KENYA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICIZATION
OF ETHNICITY AND THE IMPACT OF FREE MARKETS ON ETHNIC
RELATIONS..................................................................................................................78
9.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................78
9.2 Colonial processes in Kenya pertinent to the ethnic question........................................83
9.3 Ethnicity and multi-party politics...................................................................................85
9.4 Impact of free markets on ethnicity in Kenya................................................................88
9.5 Towards national unity: Strategies for promoting ethnic cooperation............................93
9.6 Conclusion......................................................................................................................96
10. CITIZENSHIP AND MINORITIES IN KENYA............................................................97
10.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................97
10.2 Understanding citizenship............................................................................................98
10.3 Acquisition and loss of citizenship in Kenya...............................................................99
10.3.1 Citizenship by operation of law..........................................................................100
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10.3.2 Citizenship by registration..................................................................................102
10.3.3 Citizenship by naturalization..............................................................................104
10.4 Minorities and citizenship.........................................................................................106
10.4.1 Migration and perceptions of indigeneity...........................................................106
10.4.2 The Nubian case study........................................................................................107
10.4.3 Human rights impact of denial of citizenship rights of Nubians........................109
10.5 Minorities, national borders and citizenship..............................................................111
10.5.1 The Somali case study........................................................................................113
10.5.2 Human rights implications in the Kenyan Somali’s case...................................115
10.6 Conclusion..................................................................................................................118
10.7 Recommendations......................................................................................................119
11. CAMEROON’S CONSTITUTIONAL CONUNDRUM: RECONCILING UNITY
WITH DIVERSITY......................................................................................................121
11.1 Introduction................................................................................................................121
11.2 A brief historical background.....................................................................................124
11.2.1 The establishment of statist authoritarianism.....................................................125
11.2.2 The faltering democratic transition....................................................................130
11.3 The tale of two operational constitutions...................................................................133
11.4 Centrifugal forces of fragmentation and the politics of denial..................................137
11.4.1 The Anglophone problem....................................................................................138
11.4.2 The ethnic equation............................................................................................141
11.4.3 The heavy colonial baggage...............................................................................144
11.5 Critical elements for a return to constitutionalism.....................................................145
11.5.1 Entrenchment of the core elements of constitutionalism.....................................146
11.5.2 Deconstructing the Federal Myth.................................................................148
11.5.3 Asymmetrical federation.....................................................................................151
11.5.4 Language rights..................................................................................................152
11.5.5 Recognition and protection of bi-juralism..........................................................153
11.5.7 A mechanism for ensuring free and fair elections...............................................154
11.6 Conclusion.................................................................................................................155
12. FEDERALISM AND ACCOMMODATION OF ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN AFRICA:
THE ETHIOPIAN EXPERIENCE...............................................................................157
12.1 Introduction................................................................................................................157
12.2 The attractions of federalism as a means for accommodation of diversity and conflict
management in Africa...............................................................................................160
12.3 The nature of Ethiopia’s federation............................................................................163
12.3.1 The normative foundations.................................................................................163
12.3.2 Member states of the federation.........................................................................165
12.3.3 Federal division of power...................................................................................167
12.4 Achievements and drawbacks of Ethiopia’s federalism............................................172
12.4.1 Achievements.....................................................................................................172
12.4.2 Limitations of the Ethiopian type of federalism.....................................................175
12.5 Conclusion: Lessons for other African countries......................................................178
13. PROTECTING ETHNIC MINORITIES IN NIGERIA’S NIGER DELTA..................181
13.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................181
13.2 A brief historical background of the minority question in Nigeria............................183
13.2.1 Oil exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta...........................................185
13.2.2 Measures designed to protect ethnic minorities in Nigeria................................186
13.2.3 Human rights issues in oil exploration and exploitation..................................188
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13.3. Human rights and security........................................................................................193
13.4 Administrative autonomy in a federal state...............................................................194
13.5 Measures targeted at ethnic minorities of the Niger delta.........................................195
13.5.1 Development agencies for the ethnic minorities of the Niger delta..................195
13.5.2 Increased share of oil revenue............................................................................198
13.6 Minority protection and the governance capacity of states.......................................200
13.7 Measures to improve the protection of ethnic minorities of the Niger delta.............201
13.7.1 Governance capacity - Towards a Nigerian State committed to social justice..201
13.7.2 Increased revenue for the Niger Delta states.....................................................203
13.7.3 Rethink the role of development agencies...........................................................203
13.7.4 Communal family and individual ownership control and participation in the
Nigerian oil industry- Re-configuring the right to property..........................................204
13.7.5 Enhanced corporate social responsibility...........................................................205
13.8 Conclusion.................................................................................................................207
14. EXPLAINING AND MANAGING THE POLITICS OF ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN
SOUTH AFRICA..........................................................................................................209
14. 1 Introduction...................................................................................................................228
14.2 Ethnicity in South Africa’s constitutional and political development................210
14.3 Towards post-apartheid South Africa: The emergence of politicised ethnicity?.......215
14.4 The political saliency of ethnicity in post-apartheid South Africa.............................217
14.5 Accommodating ethnic diversity in the Interim Constitution....................................221
14.6 Recognition and autonomy in the 1996 Constitution.................................................223
14.7 Recognition of ethnic diversity..................................................................................224
14.9 Autonomy...................................................................................................................229
14.9.1 Geographical configuration of the state............................................................229
14.9.2 Powers and functions of provincial governments...............................................234
14.9.3 The system of provinces as a safety net for emerging ethnic claims..................235
14.10 Conclusion...............................................................................................................236
15. CONTRIBUTORS...........................................................................................................240
15.1 Sarah Muringa Kinyanjui..........................................................................................240
15.2 Dan Juma...................................................................................................................240
15.3 Enyinna Sodienye Nwauche......................................................................................240
15.4 Grace Mukami Maina................................................................................................241
15.5 Godfrey M. Musila....................................................................................................241
15.6 Dr. Yonatan Tesfaye Fessha.......................................................................................241
15.7 Solomon A. Dersso....................................................................................................241
15.8 Charles Manga Fombad.............................................................................................242
15.9 Beverlyn Ongaro........................................................................................................242
v 15.10 George Mukundi Wachira.............................................................................243
15.11 Osogo Ambani..............................................................................................243
1. ABBREVIATIONS
GTZ Good Governance Support Project, Kenya
ICJ Kenya International Commission of Jurist, the Kenyan Chapter
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
USAID United States Agency For International Development
DRC Democratic Republic of Kenya
KANU Kenya African National Union
KADU Kenya African Democratic Union
KPU Kenya Peoples Union
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
KNCHR Kenya National Commission On Human Rights
KACC Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission
ECK Electoral Commission of Kenya
IPPG Inter Parliamentary
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women
CRC Convention on the Rights of Children
DFRD District Focus for Rural Development
DDC District Development Committees
NARC National Rainbow Coalition
CKRC Constitution of Kenya Review Commission
GNU Government of National Unity
PNU Party of National Unity v

ODM Orange Democratic Union
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
SDF Social Democratic Front
CPDM Cameroon Peoples Democratic Party
CPI Corruption Prevention Index
TCCM Technical Committee on Constitutional Matters
IEC Independent Electoral Commission
EPRDF Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front
GPNRS Gambella Peoples National Regional State
NDDC Niger Delta Development Committee
NDBDA Niger Delta Basin Development Authority
MOSOP Movement for the Salvation of the Ogoni People
IEF Ijau Elder Forum
ENC Egbena National Congress
IYC Ijau Youth Council
OMPADEC Oil and Mineral Producing Areas Development Committee
ANC African National Congress
IFP Ithaka Freedom Party
2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ICJ Kenya wishes to thank all those who contributed towards this publication. First our
heartfelt gratitude goes to the team of experts who contributed the various articles that form
the publication. Theses are Mr. Solomon A. Dersso, Ms. Beverline Ongaro, Mr. John Osogo
Ambani, Mr. Dan Juma, Mr. Godfrey Musila, Ms Sarah Kinyanjui, Ms Grace Maina, Mr. Korir
Sing’oei, Professor Charles Manga Fombad, Ms Emezat H Mengesha, Professor Enyinna
Nwauche and Mr. Yonatan Tesfaye Fessha
ICJ Kenya is sincerely grateful to Mr. George Kegoro, Ms Rita Kijala Shako, Ms Elsy Sainna
and Ms Caroline Waiganjo for coordinating and undertaking the in-depth research whose
findings form the basis of this publication.
We in no less measure appreciate the work of Mr. George Wacira Mukundi for his meticulous
editorial work that shaped the publication into its current form.
ICJ Kenya wishes to specially thank the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation for providing
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the financial support towards this publication. We acknowledge the help of Prof. Christian
Roschmann and Mr. Peter Wendoh, the Konrad Team that was involved in this project. We also
thank our other development partners, USAID, UNDP, the Finnish Embassy, GTZ and WFD
Lastly, ICJ Kenya appreciates its members, the Council and secretariat staff for their support in
ensuring successful implementation of this project.
We trust that you will find this report a useful resource.
Thank you all.
Ms. Priscilla Nyokabi Kanyua
Ag. Executive Director
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In recent years, many countries all over the world have seen a resurgence of ethnic and
cultural demands by minority people who do not control the power of the state. Many of the
major political (including violent) conflicts that the world has witness have a clear cut ethnic
dimension.
Ethnic mobilization defies the fundamental concepts on which the modern nation state has been
built and therefore presents a formidable challenge to policy makers and “nation building”. In
Africa, not all states have faced this question head- on in their Constitutions and legislations.
Ethnic enlistment has many causes. It is partly a response to the problems and tensions
engendered by the process of economic development. In many cases unequal development is
linked to governance systems in which subordinate ethnic groups, often regionally localized,
bear the social costs of capital accumulation and unequal exchange which causes them to
resist.
Ethnic conflicts are often the expression of underlying social and political conflicts between
classes, population segments, or interest groups within the wider society. The politicization of
ethnicity is simply one form of politics, but one which tends to increase and harden divisions
and barriers through the symbols and myths that openly question the bases of the nation- state.
In the political struggles of our times, ethnicity and classism complicate the terms of social
conflict and make institutional reforms more difficult. Over time, the ease with which ethnic x
myths have become powerful political instruments testifies to the strength and resilience of
ethnic identities as a fundamental expression of human solidarity and social integration. The
social and economic policies of state can only ignore these forces at their own peril.
The theme chosen for this publication is of crucial importance in light of recent conflicts as
well as for the future of the continent because given the number and variety of ethnic conflict,
development strategies cannot afford to ignore the effects of ethnicity. The prospects of peace
and war, the maintenance of national unity, and the enjoyment of fundamental human rights
in many parts of the world depend on the adequate solution to ethnic tensions. To ignore the
problem is to therefore neglect an important aspect of the contemporary reality.
The task for legal experts, social scientists, development planners and nation builders is to
understand the dynamics of ethnicity in relation to other social forces and to forego structures
in which basic human rights and the right to self determination of ethnic groups may be
safeguarded within the framework of national and international society.
This will involve accepting the diversity of conditions, circumstances and communities within
which democracy will develop. This means that we must learn to manage the complexity that
is the very substance of democracy, to lay the ethical foundations and to discover the practical
modalities of reconciliation between universal values and cultural specificities.
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