ODM leader Raila Odinga and his party allies are headed for a showdown with a section of Mount Kenya politicians over a proposed shift in governance that would clip presidential powers and at the same time expand the executive.
Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) team is proposing the creation of a powerful prime minister elected by Parliament and a ceremonial president to head the government and defense forces.
But a section of leaders from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Mt Kenya turf has promised to reject any attempts to alter the presidential system.
The 39 MPs held a presser led by Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri, Ndaragua MP Jeremiah Kioni and Meru Senator Mithika Linturi.
Kioni who chairs the influential National Assembly’s Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee said that they will reject the report if it does address the under representation in Mt. Kenya region.
While reading a statement signed by the 39 politicians, the Ndaragwa law maker stated that parliamentary system of governance will disadvantage the people of Mt Kenya who he claims are underrepresented.
They made a promise to reject any proposal to have either the president or prime minister elected in Parliament or through any other means that is not directly by the people.
Kioni emphasized they come from an overpopulated region but they under represented in everything including resource allocation.
That massive rejection of a parliamentary system of government in central will to put Uhuru who had promised to back BBI in a political fix. The President views BBI as the solut
The President had promised to support the BBI process which he said would be the solution to Kenya’s historical injustices and elusive peace and unity.
In 2009, Uhuru was part of the Parliamentary Constitutional Review team that shot down a proposal to create a p alongside other backers of then-President Mwai Kibaki.
Kibaki also dashed hopes of an executive PM in 2002 after he delibathe NARC agreement with LDP.
Raila’s allies now claim that Mt Kenya leaders are non-committal on the unity agenda initiated by Uhuru and Raila through the BBI and are working with anti-handshake crusaders to bring it down.
National Assembly Minority Leader and ODM party chairman John Mbadi accused the Mt Kenya MPs of not being ‘genuine and serious’ with the handshake unity drive. ODM have been the loudest crusaders of the handshake with their lips steady on referendum.
Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang said, “Kenya is bigger than Mt Kenya” while Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi read mischief in the leaders’ threat to shoot down the report. He said there is a hidden political hand in the opposition of the handshake report possibly initiated by DP William Ruto who is a renowned anti BBI crusader.
According to political analyst Herman Manyora, leaders from Mt Kenya have been apprehensive about the change of governance for fear of losing their grip on power.
Analysts observe that Mt. Kenya is highly populated but it has fewer electoral zones than other regions. That is the reasoning behind the vehement rejection for a change of the current system. They don’t want to lose the grip of power.
