This archive report was first published on 30 November 2019.
On November 30, 2019, National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale spoke out against calls for a referendum on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report, stating that those advocating for such a process were acting out of ignorance and a lack of understanding of the constitution.
According to Duale, the BBI report does not meet the threshold for a referendum as outlined in Article 255 of the Constitution, and that those calling for a referendum should first read the report and the Constitution concurrently to understand the issues at hand.
“Are those calling for a Referendum aware that there exists no Referendum law to govern the process? This is similar to calling people to eat, when you have no firewood or food to cook,” Duale said.
He further noted that subjecting the country to a referendum would be catastrophic, especially during tough economic times, and that the billions of shillings required for such a process could be better spent on offering services to Kenyans.
Additionally, Duale stated that ODM party leader Raila Odinga is the biggest loser in the BBI report, as his push for a powerful prime minister has been watered down to a majority leader in the national assembly.
“Raila should just accept that he has been hoodwinked. He should dust himself, accept that that is how things have turned out and move on with life,” Duale said.
