International Human Rights Instruments as Sources of Kenyan Constitution and Mediaas Role in Advocating for Guaranteed Rights and Freedoms: A Case Study of Bill of Rights

Abstract

The constitution of Kenya, promulgated in 2010, was as a result of a long journey and quest for Kenya’s own constitution since independence. Although the constitution is domesticated in the sense that it has elaborate laws “of the soil” it can be referred to as a hybrid of international legal instruments. For example, the constitution is lauded for containing the most elaborate bill of rights, encased in chapter 4: THE BILL OF RIGHTS. Most, and to say the least, almost all provisions in the bill of rights are directly or indirectly borrowed from international human rights instruments. This paper focuses on article 32 (freedom of conscience, religion belief and opinion), article 33 (freedom of expression) and article 34 (freedom of media) under Chapter 4 (Bill of Rights) of the constitution of Kenya. The aim is to identify international human rights instruments from which these article provisions could have been borrowed from and domesticated in the Kenyan constitution. The questions to be answered are: 1) which international human rights instruments contain provisions as articles 32, 33 and 34 of the constitution of Kenya? 2) What are the exceptions when trying to claim the right to these freedoms? 3) What is the role of media in entrenching these freedoms and provisions? And 4) what are some cases in Kenya that relate to these provisions or their violations and how has the media handled them?