The Bible in the book of 1 Kings 3: 16-28 gives an account of two women who are roommates contesting over a baby before King Solomon. They both claimed to be mothers to the son in dispute. Upon impasse King Solomon asked for a sword and suggested cutting up the baby into two so that each would have a piece. One of the women supported the suggestion while one offered that the baby be kept alive and given to the woman, who wanted him split. This account shows how competing interests can be problematic yet capable of being solved in a redemptive manner. Such account can be compared to the situation of a Christian woman in the on-going constitutional debates as she has to examine the provisions of the Proposed Constitution of Kenya in so far as it relates to her as a woman and a Christian and make an informed decision. Unfortunately, so far, the debates have presented myopic options as the multifaceted nature of such woman has been razor cut and presented as mutually exclusive. She either has to examine the draft as woman, a situation well highlighted by civil society organisations on gains that accrue to women, or a Christian to heed to the call by religious leaders to reject the draft. If she were to prefer the former her choice would be perceived as Faustian while the latter preference would invite criticisms as being non progressive. Unfortunately, there are no deliberate efforts to show that one can favour the draft on strong basis as a Christian woman, thereby illustrating that the two facets are intrinsically related and are mutually exclusive. For example, one of basic tenets of Christianity is protection of vulnerable and alleviation of their sufferings. As such articles 22 and 258 of the Proposed Constitution of Kenya will enable such a Christian woman to seek enforcement of rights of vulnerable persons, moving away from tokenism such as visiting children homes and prisons during Festive seasons, which has never pulverize the chalice of poverty, discrimination and other miseries imbibed by the vulnerable.  

The unfortunate condition is that such razor cut tendency on different facets of a human being is a Kenyan norm hence making us a schizophrenic country. Another situation that illuminates this is the recent calls by the leaders from the Ufungamano Joint Forum of Religious Organisations to citizens not to pay taxes, in a bid to hinder Kenyan members of parliament from increasing their salaries. The interesting thing is that in the same breath some of the leaders are urging their followers to vote against the Proposed Constitution of Kenya that establishes the Salaries and Remuneration Commission which will be a panacea to arbitrary salary increments by members of parliament. The call by the Ufungamano Forum is a form of civil disobedience. The ultimate success of civil disobedience is the repeal of the law that is considered oppressive and putting in its stead a favourable law. In this scenario, the Forum ultimate success would be to urge their church members to vote for the Proposed Constitution of Kenya, thereby replacing the Constitution of Kenya which has a loophole that enables members of parliament to arbitrarily raise their salaries. An introspection into how civil disobedience in other jurisdictions; United States of America as led by Martin Luther King and South Africa as led Nelson Mandela against racism and apartheid respectively, show that their actions were followed by new laws. Another unfortunate dualism worth mention is quest for independence of judiciary by lawyers and at the same time campaigning against the draft which will bring to fruition such quest.  

No doubt the constitutional debates have provided an opportunity for Kenyans to face up their different facets and as seek to reconcile the dissonance between aspirations and realities, which make Kenya schizophrenic. It would be important above all to do away with dualism that threaten good governance and save the baby.