Kenya's age of 'renewal'

Kenya's President yesterday heralded the passage of a new constitution as a "national renewal", after results showed that close to 70 per cent of the country had backed the document replacing a British colonial-era draft that inflated the powers of the presidency.

Opponents of the new constitution conceded defeat gracefully, paving the way for a peaceful transition to the new draft document.

"The historic journey that we began over 20 years ago is now coming to a happy end," President Mwai Kibaki told hundreds of supporters in downtown Nairobi.

Kenya's current constitution, drawn up in the lead-up to Kenya's 1963 independence from Britain, grants the President sweeping powers.

The new constitution would dramatically cut back on those powers by setting up an American-style system of checks and balances and paving the way for land reform.

Ethnically charged violence left more than 1000 people dead following the disputed 2007 presidential election, raising concerns about the aftermath of yesterday's vote.