Illegal bid to reform Kenya’s constitutional head: Supreme Court Politics News

The Kenyan Supreme Court ruled that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s proposal to change the constitution was illegal, stopping the movement by critics that it was publicly designed to verify his deputy.

Parliament has already approved the proposed amendments – known as the Institutional Bridges Initiative – which mark the biggest change in the governance structure of the East African nation since the new constitution was adopted in 2010.

However, in a ruling on various challenges posed by various parties, the five-judge court on Thursday said Kenyatta had used the constitutional provision reserved for citizens to initiate changes, making the process illegal.

“The bill to amend the constitution is an initiative of the president and the law makes it clear that the president has no constitutional mandate to initiate constitutional changes through the people’s initiative,” the court said in its ruling.

As a result, “civil proceedings may be instituted against the president for violating the constitution, beginning with his amendment,” the judges added.

“The president cannot be a player and a referee in the same match,” said one of the judges, Jairus Ngaah.

Power sharing

The government, which wants to hold a referendum after Kenyatta signs the bill, has said it will appeal the ruling.

Kenyatta says the bill encourages the sharing of power among ethnic groups competing to reduce cyclical electoral violence and is not aimed at anyone.

It will create 70 new constituencies, elect the role of cabinet ministers to the elected members of parliament and create several powerful new positions: a prime minister, two deputies and an official head of the parliamentary opposition.

Kenyatta-Odinga partnership

Kenyatta began the changes with the support of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, both of whom made peace in January 2018, after the President defeated Odinga the previous year after the divisive presidential election.

The rapprochement isolated Kenyatta MP William Ruto from resigning next year when he wants to succeed his boss after serving a five-year constitutionally approved term.

The constitutional amendments are partly designed to dominate the political intentions of the Kalenjin ethnic group Ruto, allowing them to form an alliance against him, said John Githon’s famous anti-graft campaign.

“It’s very clear that some of these alignments are sidelined,” he said.

Ruto’s allies have spoken out loudly against the bill to amend the constitution in parliament and abroad.

“I don’t think we have a constitutional problem in Kenya … Kenya’s biggest problem is the economic problem,” pro-Ndindi Nyoro Ruto MP said on local Citizens’ Television.

The next presidential election will be in 2022 and Kenyatta, after serving two terms in office, will not be able to run again.

Ruto said constitutional reform will create a system to share power with Kenyatta and Odinga, Kikuyu and Luo, the two main ethnic groups in the country, respectively.