20100122
allafrica

Nairobi — Civil society groups early Friday camped at the Naivasha law talks meeting in protest at the removal of the Prime Minister position in the proposed new law.

The groups, led by activists Suba Churchill and Paddy Onyango, were also protesting the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitution refusal to give non governmental organisations positions in "all levels of government."

They were also against the committee's proposal to outlaw gay marriages, what they call "trans-sexual rights."

Police were on high alert in case of any disturbances, as the groups had threatened to storm the meeting venue.

They were later dispersed by police.

Some of the protesters arrived last night and checked into the Great Rift Valley Lodge, while another group came early Friday.

A number of the 26-member committee are accusing the civil society activists of seeking to derail the constitutional reform process so that "they can continue milking money from donors in the guise of fighting for reform."

The PSC Wednesday night agreed to a presidential system of government with a powerful Chief Executive, who will be checked by Parliament and an independent Judiciary.

The team also agreed that the president should not be an MP and neither should cabinet members.

The draft handed to the team for debate by the Committee of Experts proposes a hybrid model, with both a president and a premier sharing power.

The committee has until next Friday to debate the draft and make recommendations to the Committee of Experts.

The experts will have 21 days to consider and incorporate the decisions of the PSC before the draft goes to Parliament for debate.