Both sides of Kenya's constitution dispute are negotiating

December 6, 2005

After Kenyans voted "no" for the implementation of the new constitution, the "Orange" anti-constitution campaign and the "Banana" pro-constitution campaign finally sat down together to discuss the way forward.

The draft constitution would have banned foreign land ownership, set the prime minister position to report to the country's president, banned same-sex marriages and restricted regional political parties. It would have also given women equal rights to inherit property, and addressed local elections. The country was attempting to rewrite its post-colonial constitution. This draft constitution was brought forward by the Attorney General, Amos Wako.

A day after the results were announced, the President of the country, Mwai Kibaki, fired his whole cabinet. It is not yet known what he plans to do, but hopes for reconciliation are high: a member of the opposition called on the president "to provide leadership in the way forward".