President Kenyatta illegally originated BBI Bill, anti-BBI team says
The anti-Building Bridges Initiative(BBI) alliance have said President Uhuru Kenyatta illegally originated Bill.
The lawyers insisted the president cannot start a popular initiative amendment.
Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi argued leaders elected to serve cannot ascribe themselves the title ‘wanjiku’ and that is the reason why they cannot lead a process leading to a referendum.
“The moment you become president you cease being a person, you become a state officer. And if there is any doubt as to how you should exercise yourself. The President cannot take part in a popular initiative. Imagine the President picketing!!” Havi said.
Havi also said the President has to safeguard the Constitution adding BBI Bill destroys the basic structure of the Constitution, arguing that it has created an impure, hybrid presidential and parliamentary system.
He said the Constitution is supposed to be a permanent structure to endure for ages to come and not to be lightly altered to meet the temporary experience of political parties.
He claimed that that the BBI proposals go against the basic principle of separation of powers.
“It has sought to interfere with the independence of judiciary by installing an executive prefect in the name of the judiciary ombudsman, to perform functions allocated by the people of Kenya to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Parliament acknowledged this point,” he said.
Havi said the BBI bill has sought to interfere with the independent of the Judiciary with the installation of an ombudsman to perform functions allocated to the Judicial Service Commision.
“The culture of impunity in Kenya needs a fix tool. The IEBC must do its job and Parliament and the courts do theirs. I plead [with you] to dismiss the four appeals and affirm the decision made by the High Court,” Havi said.
He said Justice Aaron Ringera had ruled at one point that if there is no referendum in the law, it is important out of abundant caution that it be included.
Further, they argued that the President was ill-advised to initiate a popular initiative which it claimed can only be enacted by the people, proposed to the country’s electoral agency by the people and approved as referendum by the people.
The LSK boss claims that as a method of state constitutional reform, popular initiative, sometimes called the constitutional initiative, is an expedient which may be used in situations where the legislature has failed to act.
“Substantially the device amounts to a reservation by the people of the power to alter the basic law in their sovereign capacity without resort to the usual process of legislation through representation,” he said.
Lawyer Elias Mutuma representing the Thirdway Alliance insisted that the initiative that is said to be promoted by Dennis Waweru and Junet Mohamed, is a product of the handshake that brought together President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
“It was packaged as an initiative to promote unity and cohesion, it was a Trojan horse to use executive powers to amend the constitution,” Mutuma said
The anti-BBI alliance maintained that constitution is supposed to be a permanent charter which is to endure for ages to come and not to be likely altered to meet the temporarily experience of political parties.
