Epistocracy or Democracy—The Place of theCommonPerson in Constitutional Amendment inKenya
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Date
2023-03-01
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Pioneer academic publishing limited
Abstract
Epistocracy is the rule by the elite while democracy entails the rule of the people by the people for thepeople. The common person is supposed to have space to determine how they wish to be governed. Kenya’s constitution provides that all sovereignty belongs to the people. And that such sovereigntycan be exercised either directly or indirectly through elected representatives and establishedinstitutions. With respect to constitutional amendments, the people can participate througheither apopular initiative or a parliamentary initiative. Both routes could eventually require the direct
participation of the people through a referendum. In some other jurisdictions, amendment of theconstitution is a preserve of the legislature. In others, reference is always made to the commonperson. In Kenya, the law is not clear on ‘who’ can initiate an amendment to the constitution throughthepopular initiative. The common person in Kenya is poor; can’t afford necessities of life like foodandhealthcare; and to some extent, forms a large segment of the illiterate population. The commonpersonrelies on the benevolence of the elite and is easily influenced by them to even vote in a certainway. This situation would appear to make the concept of democracy a mirage. This paper examines theplace of the common person in various attempts at amending the 2010 Constitution. It is arguedthat
though the common person is legally empowered to participate in constitutional amendments, thereality is that it is the epistographs who determine such constitutional changes. Recommendations onimproving the level of participation of the common person in constitutional amendments arepostulated to include continuous and enhanced ‘awareness’ seminars as well as improving underlyingsocial conditions such as access to food, health and education.
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Journal Article
Keywords
constitution, common person, amendments