• The residents said the ruling was in tandem with the feeling of the common mwananchi.
• They said implementation of the BBI bill would have pushed up the cost of living.
Image: Alice Waithera
A section of Murang’a town residents on Friday took to the streets to celebrate the ruling made by a five-judge bench that scuttled the BBI referendum push.
The residents said the BBI bill did not consider their needs and that the process would have made their lives harder.
The hundreds of residents lauded the judges for stopping the process, saying they have saved Kenyans from high taxes that they would have had to endure to have it fully implemented.
The judges on Thursday ruled that the President acted in excess of his constitutional powers when he started the process of constitutional review through the BBI.
They also ruled that the Steering Committee on the Implementation of the Building Bridges to a United Kenya Taskforce Report was unconstitutional.
Residents said the referendum process is too expensive for the country that is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kamau Mutuota said a majority of MCAs and MPs supported the bill for their selfish interests and did not consider the views of their constituents.
“Let’s get done with the elections next year then they can come back to us and ask us what we want included in the constitutional changes,” Mutuota said.
He said though may Kenyans supported the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, they do not support a constitutional review at a time when many are suffering due to loss of income.
Mutuota appealed to the incoming Chief Justice to take the cue from the judges and steer the Judiciary forward in a way that serves Kenyans’ interests.
“The way the BBI process was being carried out, we had lost hope of ever having our cries heard,” he said.
Mutuota said the government should prioritise development that will directly improve people’s lives before channeling billions of shillings to the referendum.
Anthony Marubu, Mukuyu Boda Boda Sacco chairperson said he was overjoyed that the BBI process had been toppled.
Marubu said few Kenyans have read the bill, which he said will only serve to impoverish Kenyans through imposition of taxes.
“We have been barely earning enough to put food on our tables since Covid-19 came. The standard of living is too high. Having a referendum and elections so close to each other is unreasonable because the funds will come from our pockets,” he added.
Charles Mwangi said the high cost of fuel has caused the standard of living to soar and that more representation proposed by the BBI bill would worsen the situation.
“We want the burden lightened. Corona has devastated our lives and we are hungry. The bill would only have worsened our lives,” he said.
Two days ago, fracas erupted in Murang’a town after two groups of youths clashed in a protest organised to bash Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and Senator Irungu Kang’ata for opposing the BBI bill in Parliament.
While one group threatened to take over the local CDF operations due to the MP’s political stance, the other said he represented their views on the bill.