Kenyan Lawyers Urge Minimum Reforms

Kenya’s association of lawyers has called for the adoption of minimum reforms before the East African country writes a new constitution, citing the judiciary, security agencies and the electoral commission as key institutions in need of urgent reform. Okong'o O'Mogeni, the chairman of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), said Wednesday that urgent reforms were needed to strengthen the institutions and prevent a resurgence of the kind of violence the country experienced in the controversial 2007 presidential election. The LSK also urged the government to avoid presenting the proposed new constitution through a referendum, saying a plebiscite could divide Kenyans as politicians were likely to take sides for or against its proposals. [PE]