Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has disowned a caucus formed by MPs to push for the implementation of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020 through Parliament.
Though details of the group’s proposals are scanty, Senate Minority Whip Mutula Kilonzo Jr said they want to enact the proposed laws in the bill by October or November “because there isn’t enough time to conduct a referendum as envisaged in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI)”.
“For now, a referendum is out of question,” the senator said yesterday.
He added that there needs to be a “Plan B” should the courts sink the bill.
But Mr Odinga told the Sunday Nation that he favours the realisation of the BBI not by Parliament “but through the voice of the people expressed in a referendum”.
“I am not part of the caucus. I have told its promoters that Kenyans should be allowed to make the ultimate decision through the referendum,” Mr Odinga said through his spokesman Dennis Onyango.
Fill void
The bloc, which claims to draw MPs from all the political formations, is seeking to fill the void left when the High Court on May 13 ruled that the accumulated BBI-driven bill is a product of an illegal process.
With the General Election in 2022, the caucus hopes to consolidate the gains in the bill and enact them through Parliament while postponing controversial issues and those that require a referendum.
The members of the caucus see themselves as an alternative to the BBI, saying they believe plan B is necessary “due to the unpredictable nature of court proceedings”.
Attorney-General Paul Kihara Kariuki has filed an appeal against the High Court ruling, which will be heard next week.
The caucus, however, believes in its efforts to salvage the gains contained in the bill should the Appellate Court uphold the findings of the High Court.
To achieve its mission, the group has reached out to the country’s main political leaders.
Apart from Mr Odinga, the other political leaders the caucus has approached are President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, Amani National Congress chief Musalia Mudavadi, Wiper Party’s Kalonzo Musyoka and Gideon Moi of Kanu.
National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohamed – one of the BBI proponents – said the initiative of the caucus is a scheme by critics to hijack the bill for selfish gains.
Diversionary tactic
Mr Mohamed said the creation of the caucus is a diversionary tactic by MPs allied to the Deputy President.
He added that the lawmakers are undermining President Kenyatta’s reform agenda.
“There is no law that stipulates when the country should hold a referendum,” he said.
Mr Mohamed added that the March 9, 2018 handshake between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga would ignore the caucus “whose aim is to send the country on a wild goose chase”.
“They want to hijack BBI, which is at its tail end. Why do they want to make it a parliamentary process?” Mr Mohamed asked.
“There is enough time to hold a referendum. The referendum is a one day business. We will be patient with the court process.”
National Assembly Deputy Majority Whip Maoka Maore said MPs who support the President would fight the caucus “since it is motivated by opportunism and greed for power”.
“These dark forces opposed BBI and never wanted to participate in its realisation. In fact, they played a big role in creating national doubt in the process. They don’t mean well for Kenya,” Mr Maore said.
“What do they know about the court case? Tobiah and Sanballat want to replace Nehemiah in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. It never happened. BBI is the way to go.”
Some of those linked to the caucus christened themselves “Team Kenya” during 2020 controversial debate on the Third basis of revenue sharing formula among the counties.
The team is mainly composed of senators who have declared support for Dr Ruto.
Some even voted against the bill when it was debated and passed by Parliament three weeks ago.
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