In the heart of our 2010 Constitution lies a radical promise: “All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya.” These words, enshrined in Article 1, mark a deliberate break from the colonial shackles of the 1963 Constitution, which positioned public officials as extensions of distant authority, lording over citizens as if they were subjects.
The 2010 Constitution was a covenant—a declaration that the people, not their leaders, are the ultimate arbiters of power. Yet, 15 years later, a pervasive “overlord culture” persists in Kenya’s public service and state offices, where citizens are treated as inferior, their dignity eroded by dismissive terms and abusive practices.
To address this, I petitioned the Senate in August 2024 to amend the Order of Precedence Act, 2014, placing “The Sovereigns of Kenya”—the people—at the apex of state protocols. That there has not been a response one year on is an indication this amendment is apt. This is not mere symbolism; it is an assertion of constitutional intent, a demand for cultural transformation, and a step toward dismantling a colonial mindset that undermines our democracy. The Senate, as the originator of the 2014 Act, is the right venue.
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The Order of Precedence Act, 2014, establishes a hierarchy for state and public officers at official functions, starting with the President and descending through ranks like the Deputy President, Speakers of Parliament, and County Governors. Its purpose is to promote “orderliness, discipline, and decorum” in governance. Yet, by omitting the people from this hierarchy, the Act implicitly perpetuates a colonial-era worldview where officials are demigods, and citizens are relegated to the periphery.
Terms like “raia wa kawaida” (common citizen), “mwananchi wa kawaida” (ordinary citizen), and “civilian” are not neutral descriptors; they carry derogatory weight, implying inferiority. Politicians casually dismiss concerns with “mwananchi wa kawaida,” while the disciplined and security forces, steeped in a colonial policing mindset, use “civilian” to dehumanise those they are meant to serve.
Reports from as far back as the 2002 Constitution Review Commission hearings reveal that police recruits are taught “raia ni adui”—“citizens are the enemy.”
This phrase fosters an adversarial culture that manifests in brutality, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings.
My petition seeks to amend the Act to place “The Sovereigns of Kenya” at the top of the protocol’s hierarchy, define them as “The People of Kenya”. It also proposes that citizens be addressed as “The Sovereigns” in protocols as the cornerstone of governance. This is also about enforcing a cultural shift through the Act’s existing penalties. Section 7 of the Act imposes fines of Sh1 to 2 million, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both, for contraventions by state officers or others who “disobey, disregard, abuse, neglect, or are negligent” of the Act’s provisions.
The persistence of derogatory terms like “raia wa kawaida” is not a trivial matter. Language shapes perception, and perception drives behaviour. When public servants view citizens as beneath them, the result is a cascade of abuses. Human rights reports from organisations like Amnesty International and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) document how police, trained to see “raia” as threats, commit violations with impunity—beatings, tear gas misuse, and even killings during protests.
The term “mwananchi wa kawaida” implies a hierarchy where some citizens are “extraordinary,” reinforcing the elitism the 2010 Constitution sought to dismantle. If ordinary citizens exist, then the Order of Precedence Act, as it stands, codifies this misnomer by elevating officials above the people who delegate sovereign power to them.
The amendments are not about logistics but about signaling a cultural shift. By mandating that protocols honour citizens first, the Act would set a tone for governance.
Political resistance is likely from officials who benefit from the status quo. Cultural change is slow; even with penalties, mindsets entrenched since colonial times won’t vanish overnight. The 2010 Constitution was a rejection of colonial hierarchies, but its promise remains unfulfilled. The Senate must act, not just to amend an Act, but to reaffirm that in Kenya, the people are sovereign.
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By Lawi Sultan Njeremani