ABSTRACT
The pursuit of constitutional reform in East Africa has arisen out of expedient politics rather than careful and deliberate reflection on the fundamental questions of ordering political life in a modern democratic state. Since 1994, constitutional review has been a central reform priority in the political arena in Kenya. Few organizations offered concrete plans for the content of constitutional change or proposed any particular constitutional model. The Kenya case illustrates the significant battles over process that characterizes constitutional reform attempts in the transitions. In Uganda, constitutional reform has ignited an animated debate over the nature of the state and the most appropriate political system, and on the substantive division of state power. The Uganda case exemplifies two of the notable trends in constitutional debates unfolding in African transitions, one focusing on the nature of the state, and the second exploring the relationship between different institutions of the state.
