This archive report was first published on 15 May 2021.
On February 09, 2021, Murang'a Senator Irungu Kang'ata arrived at the Jubilee parliamentary group meeting at KICC, Nairobi. He urged BBI proponents not to appeal the five-judge Bench ruling on the document and instead explore the parliamentary initiative route.
According to Kang'ata, the BBI Bill had fundamental and positive proposals that can be implemented without a referendum. He argued that the proposals concerning increasing constituencies could be implemented by reconstituting the IEBC and starting the process of delimiting the constituencies.
Implementation of the Ward Development Fund and the Two-Third Gender Rule, as proposed in the BBI, did not require a referendum, Kang'ata said. He added that there were Bills on the two issues pending in Parliament.
However, Kang'ata suggested that the problematic proposals in the BBI, such as increasing the size of Parliament and creating institutions that would cost Kenyans billions in taxes annually, should be dropped. He argued that the BBI had proposed expanding the Executive by creating powerful posts of a prime minister, two deputies, and an official opposition leader to promote sharing of power among various ethnic regions.
“I suggest we drop some of the contentious issues that would have burdened Kenyans who are already heavily taxed,” Kangata said.
Further, Kangata said that if the process was to be salvaged uncontested through parliamentary initiative, the pro-BBI politicians should stop weaponising it as if it is intended to exclude Deputy President William Ruto.
Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Jairus Ngaah, Teresia Matheka, and Chacha Mwita had declared the BBI process unconstitutional. Jairus Ngaah, in particular, ruled that the process was illegal, saying that President Uhuru Kenyatta was using a constitutional privilege reserved for citizens to initiate a constitutional amendment process.
“Popular initiative refers to a constitutional amendment process commenced by the ordinary citizens who are not part of the government and people whose initiative is not funded by the government,” Kangata argued.
The senator also said that his earlier letter to President Kenyatta on the BBI proposals was now vindicated after the High Court ruling.
“Some of the issues I had raised in my letter was that the BBI process is problematic and had legal handicaps. I advised that unless the President takes certain remedial actions, we may come into a major political and legal crisis," said Kangata.
