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Constitutional literacy in Africa: challenges and prospects
Abstract
The issue of constitutional literacy has attracted very little attention in scholarship on constitutionalism in Africa. This is not surprising, because the early constitutions were virtually imposed by the departing colonial powers and perceived as alien, not only by the ordinary citizens but also the new leaders, who had little knowledge or experience of constitutional governance. Have the new generation of ‘made-in-Africa’ constitutions changed the state of constitutional literacy on the continent? In addressing this question, the paper examines the concept of constitutional literacy and, using the example of South Africa, considers ways in which it could be promoted. The paper also considers the challenges to promoting constitutional literacy. It concludes by underlining the fact that strengthening the democratic constitutional foundations laid in the 1990s, foundations increasingly under threat today, requires a comprehensive programme of constitutional education, with a focus on the poor and other marginalised groups in society. Without knowledge and awareness of constitutional rights, citizens will not be able to vindicate their rights or challenge any violation of them.
... For marginalized women to be able to make informed decisions, claim their rights and participate in local governance they must be knowledgeable about the legal and constitutional framework. According to Fombad (2018), constitutional literacy empowers the ordinary citizen and breaks the barriers of privilege and exclusion, domination and marginalization. Raising awareness on constitutional provisions on women's rights strategies employed in the project resulted in women in Gwanda central to be able to identify some constitutional violations. ...
Women’s invisibility in political spaces is a glaring reality, particularly in patriarchal polities characterized by misogynistic attitudes towards feminine leadership. This article unpacks the socio-cultural variables that hinder women’s participation in politics and other masculinized spheres of influence. The article focuses on the advocacy efforts of Women’s Institute for Leadership Development in Gwanda, Zimbabwe. The article also details the successes and challenges scored by the lobbying effort. The article uses a qualitative research approach. It discusses the extent and effectiveness of women’s involvement in local governance and how their participation relates to Sustainable Development Goal 5. It was established that the project has greatly improved ordinary women’s participation in local governance in Gwanda Central. Capacity-building strategies implemented improved participation, competence, confidence, and effectiveness of women’s local governance processes. Women are increasingly participating in leadership at various levels. The training and mentorship programmes inspired some women to contest in the 2018 elections. We recommend the government of Zimbabwe and civil society organizations facilitate the implementation of structural reforms that address systemic and institutionalized gender-based discrimination.00263
The contemporary crisis in relation to constitutional literacy relates not to the lack of knowledge that citizens possess about fundamental constitutional texts, but to the considerable lack of development in relation to what constitutional literacy itself entails. This article accordingly unpacks the notion of constitutional literacy: its importance, its characteristics, and its variable nature. Using a comparative lens, the article invites reflection on the role we expect citizens to play in our democracies, and especially the associated knowledge and skills required for successful state performance. We suggest that constitutional literacy is exceptionally multifaceted and fluid in nature, which serves to make its conceptualization and measurement challenging endeavours, and certainly more so than the easy invocation of this notion may assume at first blush. In this regard, engaging with the constitutional text, while an integral component of constitutional literacy, is ultimately only one part of the puzzle.
JOS JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY VOL. 1. NO. 1
The effects of the third wave of democracy did not effectively enhance constitutionalism in Cameroon. As with many other African countries, Cameroon was characterized by constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening constitutionalism and the Rule of law. However, this research poses the question on the main challenges in the institutionalization of the Rule of law in the Cameroon polity and whether the main challenge is posed by the state itself, especially the executive arm of government. To answer this question, this research employed the Rule of law framework proposed by the WJP which includes elements of; Accountability, Just Laws, Open Government and Access to Justice. These elements were reviewed both de jure and de facto in the Cameroonian context. The outcome of this research lends credence to the assertion that the state of Cameroon champions the assault of the Rule of law in Cameroon.
keywords: Rule of Law, Judicial Independence, Constitutionalism, Human Rights, Democracy, Constitutional Law
The advancement of major democracies across the globe has been as a result of constitutional and political education. Education primarily drives the growth of nations based on the training and most importantly the skills it offer to the citizenry of nations. Significantly, democratic consolidation which occurs partly as a result of civic education and initiatives have been looked at by countries, Ghana is no exception. Arguably the role of the National Commission on Civic Education (NNCE), which is a body mandated by the parent law of Ghana to teach people their civic rights and responsibilities which invariably influences the conduct of people during and after elections has not been fully studied. Based on primary and secondary sources, this paper investigates or better still throws more light
on the NCCE of Ghana: their roles and contribution during and after elections with emphasis on the 2012 presidential elections in Ghana. The lessons gleaned are useful for both the NCCE and the citizens of Ghana and most importantly for those who believe in the usefulness of civic education in the twenty-first century.
The Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project is the leading effort in American legal education to mobilize law students to teach high school students about the Constitution and Bill of Rights. This Article traces the development of the project from its beginnings in the 1990s at American University Washington College of Law to its unexpected but dramatic expansion across the country to eighteen law schools today. The Article explains the Marshall-Brennan curriculum, which focuses on Supreme Court decisions addressing the rights of America's student population in school and in the criminal justice process, and canvasses the essential operational ingredients of Marshall-Brennan chapters thriv-ing all over America. It argues that this project provides functional mean-ing to the intellectual movement in constitutional law to define a demo-cratic or popular constitutionalism, offering law schools and their stu-dents and professors an excellent, practical way to promote constitutional values in their local communities. It further posits that the project offers one compelling answer to the growing cynicism about law schools, which are being vilified for being internally exploitative, socially useless, intellectually self-referential, and indifferent to the community. Finally, the Article contends that, in the post-Fisher v. University of Texas age of sharply controlled affirmative action, the project is the most effective pipeline strategy in the land for making a law school education a tangible choice and viable prospect for talented and disadvantaged high school students from all backgrounds.
The Impact of Civic Education on Political Participation in the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region of Ghana' (2016) 6(8) Public Policy and Administration Research
- J Niworo
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Niworo J, Gasu J and Achanso SA, 'The Impact of Civic Education on Political
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Civic Education and the Promotion of Participatory Democracy in Uganda
- Katusiimeh
Katusiimeh, 'Civic Education and the Promotion of Participatory Democracy in Uganda'
<https://file:///C:/Users/u04380886/Downloads/Mr%20M%20Katusiimeh%20-%
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20Democracy%20in%20Uganda.pdf> accessed June 2019.
Presidential Term Limits and Their Impact on Constitutionalism in Africa
- Charles M See
- Nathaniel A Fombad
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See, Charles M Fombad and Nathaniel A Inegbedion, 'Presidential Term Limits and
Their Impact on Constitutionalism in Africa' in Charles Fombad and Christina Murray
(ed), Fostering Constitutionalism in Africa, (Pretoria, PULP 2010) 15-17.
How Civil Society Has Strengthened SA's Democracy
- Corruption See
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See, Corruption Watch, 'How Civil Society Has Strengthened SA's Democracy'
<https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/civil-society-strengthened-democracy-south-africa/
> accessed June 2019.
Bridging the Gap Between People and the Law: Transformative Constitutionalism and the Right to Constitutional Literacy
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See, 'Bridging the Gap Between People and the Law: Transformative Constitutionalism
and the Right to Constitutional Literacy' (2015) Acta Juridica 189-212.