New Kenyan constitution set to pass despite church opposition

Kenyan voters have overwhelmingly approved their country’s new constitution, according to provisional results released by election officials on Thursday.

Of the over 7.5 million votes that were counted so far, 69 per cent were found in favour of the new constitution, according to the figures released by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission. Thirty-one per cent, meanwhile, were opposed.

Though church leaders have questioned the validity of the outcome, Higher Education Minister William Ruto, one of the leaders of the campaign opposing the constitution, admitted defeat.

“Kenyans have spoken and we respect that,” Ruto said, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA).

But the “no” campaign leader called for further discussion on contentious issues in the constitution.

Leaders within the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), similarly, said the contentious issues still needed to be resolved despite the results of the referendum, arguing that the results did not in any way nullify the contentions.

The ecumenical church body, which was among the 30 different Christian groups and denominations that came together last week to oppose the proposed constitution, contends that the constitution contains various contentious issues with “grave” implications for the nation.

Last week, a broad range of Christian leaders in Kenya called on Kenyans to reject the proposed constitution “in its entirety”, saying it did not safeguard the sacredness of human life, the sound and moral education of the country’s children, nor religious equality.

While the leaders acknowledged that “many positive improvements” are in the proposed draft, they said “the good has been mixed with evil sections that affect the moral life and rights of this country in irreversible and fundamental ways”.

The statement was signed by leaders from denominations including the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, the Methodist Church in Kenya, and the Kenya Assemblies of God, among others. Other Christian groups represented included the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya, and the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya, among others.

The constitution has also garnered criticism overseas, including those from the World Congress of Families (WCF), which gathered the signatures of 170 pro-life and pro-family leaders in 21 countries who support Kenyans opposed to the pro-abortion constitution.

According to WCF, the proposed constitution includes language that would allow abortion when the mother's health is affected by a continuation of pregnancy.

Notably, however, the constitution does not define the word “health”, and therefore could come to include “complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, the organisation said.

For that and other reasons, supporters of the “no” campaign are calling on government leaders to allow amendments to the likely approved constitution.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Thursday promised opponents that their "voice has been heard" and appealed for national unity.