Constitution-building in Africa

The chapters in this collective volume emanate from the International Conference on Constitution-Building in Africa, hosted by the Community Law Centre on 6 September 2013 at the University of Western Cape (UWC). The eleven chapters by authors from the African continent discuss the rise of constitutionalism in Africa. Two chapters look specifically at how to draft a constitution. Zembe examines the adoption of Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution and Masengu looks at constitutional review efforts in Zambia. Muchadenyika deals with devolution in Zimbabwe’s Constitution and Mahadew’s chapter discusses how the Mauritian electoral system protects minorities. Two chapters examine the sustainability of constitutions. Musumba argues, with reference to the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, that constitution making should be more sensitive to the feasibility of provisions and Nabukenya examines the sustainability of the Ugandan Constitution. Mugyenyi examines the role of Kenyan courts in the implementation of the Kenyan Constitution and Sermet examines how courts have stepped in the void left by extra-constitutional regime changes in Comores and Madagascar. Two chapters, one by Chilemba and one by Fiseha, discuss the power of national executives in Malawi and Ethiopia respectively. They conclude that institutional mechanisms and political culture stand in the way of healthy checks and balances between the legislature and the executive. [ASC Leiden abstract]