This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
On June 2, 2018, Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, reiterated his commitment to pushing for a constitutional review, despite resistance from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Speaking during an Iftar (Ramadhan dinner) in Mombasa, Odinga emphasized that the calls for a constitutional review were unstoppable, with the goal of forming an all-inclusive Kenya.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had previously expressed his opposition to the idea, stating that a change to the law would not deliver the Kenyan dream. However, Odinga argued that the building bridges committee recently gazetted would provide a way forward.
“If the team says we need to amend the Constitution, we will do so and no one will stop us,” Odinga said.
He added that the need for a referendum was to allow the formation of a nation that would end the vices that had been dragging the country down since its independence.
“We want to form a nation that will include everyone. A Kenya that will allow anyone to contest for the top seat and be elected. We want a situation where even a person from El Molo can get an equal chance of contesting for the seat and be elected,” he said.
Odinga dismissed leaders who wanted to ride on the pact for their 2022 bids, saying the deal focused on changing Kenyans' lives 50 years from now.
“We got into the deal focusing on 50 years from now and not 2022. We made the pact knowing where we are and where we are heading to, and I am here to seek your support of the unity so that we can move this country forward,” he said.
