How to deal with gender parity issue is clear in law

If the Constitution was a dead person, it would have hardly been cold in its grave before we were having a go at it. If not trashing and tearing it apart, we are busy saying how it cannot be implemented.

What rubbish. Of course it can. When President Kibaki wanted to, cheekily and right under our noses, unconstitutionally appoint the Chief Justice, a Deputy Chief Justice and the Director of Public Prosecution, there was hue and cry that almost fell the sky about the illegality and unconstitutionality of it all.

He diplomatically retreated. And he did the right thing. The Judicial Service Commission went to work and months later we got the positions filled constitutionally and we all went our quiet ways.

Budget reading

Then came the budget. Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta received so much press and threats on the eve of the reading of the budget about it being unconstitutional. Eventually sanity and common sense prevailed.

The ministry bought some time to sort itself out ready to fully comply with the Constitution come next budget reading whose process should begin early next year. We now know.

But now another monkey of a problem has erupted.

The Cabinet has decided in its wisdom that Article 81 (b) of the Constitution, which states: “Not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender”, is “technically impossible to achieve.”

And so to deal with this monkey, Cabinet decides the best thing is to set up a task force to prepare a Constitution Amendment Bill to deal with it.

One could literally see the unprogressive minds among us rubbing their hands in glee that this is one monkey they have been waiting to throw off their backs. So there have been murmurs of “change the constitution” and “call a referendum.” Not so fast.

The Committee of Experts that came up with that requirement in the Constitution knew the legal landmines it was leading to. And yet they had good reason in putting the requirement there. They know there is a way out. Some things just have to be done.

That task force will have to refer back to the same Constitution to deal with this monkey. It calls for creative thinking not mutilation of the law.

Gender parity representation has been done successfully in other countries. It can be done here. All eyes are on the task force.

Some monkeys, they will find, just cannot be shooed off easily.