Examples of Recent Constitution Preambles Kenya (2010) “We, the people of Kenya — ACKNOWLEDGING the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation: HONOURING those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to our land: PROUD of our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, and determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation: RESPECTFUL of the environment, which is our heritage, and determined to sustain it for the benefit of future generations: COMMITTED to nurturing and protecting the well-being of the individual, the family, communities and the nation: RECOGNISING the aspirations of all Kenyans for a government based on the essential values of human rights, equality, freedom, democracy, social justice and the rule of law: EXERCISING our sovereign and inalienable right to determine the form of governance of our country and having participated fully in the making of this Constitution: ADOPT, ENACT and give this Constitution to ourselves and to our future generations.” South Africa (1996) “We, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past; Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to – Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights; Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law; Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations. May God protect our people.” ___________________________ 8