KATIBA: The Constitution of Kenya Comic Book
The Katiba Project (Katiba is the Swahili word for “Constitution”) seeks to render the Kenyan Constitution into a comic book.
This illustrated rendition of the Constitution, to be distributed in print and on digital platforms, has the potential to revolutionize civic education in Kenya by engaging citizens in a way that they have never been engaged before, and contributing in a major way to the efforts to establish an informed and participatory society.
This book will also narrate the brutal historical journey that Kenya as a country went through during the pre and post-independence period, all the way up to the historic promulgation of the new Constitution of Kenya on August 27th 2010 – a journey often downplayed and forgotten, but one through which many patriots suffered, and were separated from their loved ones, tortured, detained and killed in the quest for a new constitutional order.
The immediate objective of the Katiba project is to make the constitution accessible in an easy-to-read and understand graphic format for the majority of Kenyans, with the long-term goal to ignite increased civic participation around the country by increasing the knowledge and understanding of the Constitution, and fostering in citizens a sense of identity, belonging, and ownership of Kenya’s destiny – thereby driving a demand for high standards of accountability and transparency from political, business and social leaders.
The adage ‘information is power’ comes to mind: Buni Media is excited by this opportunity to empower Kenyan citizens in an innovative way, with the belief that this will result in mentality shifts and socio-political development that has not been experienced in the country before (challenging the status quo). The book is also intended to promote a reading culture, especially among the youth.
This project was launched in 2017 with the support of Rockefeller Foundation, and continued through to 2020 with the support of National Endowment for Democracy. Eight chapters of the Constitution have been illustrated so far, and fundraising is ongoing to support the completion of the project.
The Katiba web platform is currently under development, and it will provide essential information tools including issue papers, resources on constitutional development and practice, web links, FAQs on the Constitution, news, and analysis of ongoing constitutional discussions, etc.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE KATIBA WEB PLATFORM (Under development)