An insider’s point of view on the Constitution
Feb 03, 2005
In October 1995, a new Uganda Constitution was circulated by the Constituent Assembly
Title: The Search for a National Consensus: The Making of the 1995 Uganda Constitution
Author: Benjamin J. Odoki
Reviewed by: Asuman Bisiika
No. of pages: 370
Publishers: Fountain Publishers
Available: Bookshops in town.
In October 1995, a new Uganda Constitution was circulated by the Constituent Assembly.
However, what the Constituent Assembly debated, amended and circulated was a draft bound by the Constitutional Commission (CC) chaired by Benjamin Odoki, the Chief Justice.
The draft Constitution comprised public views. The commission visited more than 700 sub-counties in the 34 districts twice, institutions of higher learning, professional bodies, civil society groups and students.
The search for a National Consensus: The Making of the 1995 Uganda Constitution is a blow-by-blow account of the commission’s activities.
Details like Odoki using a tipper lorry for transport from Arua to Nebbi and going dancing in Gulu town are there. Using the first person plural (we), he focuses on the commission.
We should owe it to Odoki; for a man, whose entire working life has been with the law, the book is a good narrative without legal verbiage.
It is so detailed that one is tempted to think he kept a diary.
It highlights the problems the commission passed through and the singularity of commitment. However, the importance is that other countries going through the process of building national consensus find it useful. In a pre-launch interface with the press on January 28, Odoki said the book is a labour of love.
“I wrote this book to encourage the
reading culture. The book attempts to explain the role our commission played in the Constitution-making.
“I am telling the story from an insider’s view. For instance, people don’t know every article in the Constitution was justified for a purpose.
But what guided us was the principle of building a national consensus and making a complete break from our bad past,†Odoki says.
However, he says for fear of Uganda’s bad past, his commission might have overdone some things.
“For instance, did we tame the president too much or give Parliament too much power?â€
Author: Benjamin J. Odoki
Reviewed by: Asuman Bisiika
No. of pages: 370
Publishers: Fountain Publishers
Available: Bookshops in town.
In October 1995, a new Uganda Constitution was circulated by the Constituent Assembly.
However, what the Constituent Assembly debated, amended and circulated was a draft bound by the Constitutional Commission (CC) chaired by Benjamin Odoki, the Chief Justice.
The draft Constitution comprised public views. The commission visited more than 700 sub-counties in the 34 districts twice, institutions of higher learning, professional bodies, civil society groups and students.
The search for a National Consensus: The Making of the 1995 Uganda Constitution is a blow-by-blow account of the commission’s activities.
Details like Odoki using a tipper lorry for transport from Arua to Nebbi and going dancing in Gulu town are there. Using the first person plural (we), he focuses on the commission.
We should owe it to Odoki; for a man, whose entire working life has been with the law, the book is a good narrative without legal verbiage.
It is so detailed that one is tempted to think he kept a diary.
It highlights the problems the commission passed through and the singularity of commitment. However, the importance is that other countries going through the process of building national consensus find it useful. In a pre-launch interface with the press on January 28, Odoki said the book is a labour of love.
“I wrote this book to encourage the
reading culture. The book attempts to explain the role our commission played in the Constitution-making.
“I am telling the story from an insider’s view. For instance, people don’t know every article in the Constitution was justified for a purpose.
But what guided us was the principle of building a national consensus and making a complete break from our bad past,†Odoki says.
However, he says for fear of Uganda’s bad past, his commission might have overdone some things.
“For instance, did we tame the president too much or give Parliament too much power?â€