- The constituencies, he said, will ease access to government services in the densely populated area.
- Some MPs have raised concerns over the manner in which the provision was introduced in the BBI bill.
Image: Alice Waithera
The Service Party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri has threatened to lead the No campaign ahead of a referendum if Parliament scraps 70 additional constituencies in the BBI Bill.
Kiunjuri reckoned that there was a plot to deny the Mt Kenya region their right to equal representation, saying such a move would disadvantage it against other less-populated regions.
Kiunjuri said the matter was included in the bill following massive calls by leaders from the region, hence doing away with the provision would be unacceptable.
He said the one-man-one-shilling-one-vote structure will allow the region to receive more funds and ensure locals have easy access to government services.
Kiunjuri said this as a section of MPs raised concerns over the inclusion of the additional constituencies with the onset of the debate on the BBI bill in Parliament.
Siaya senator and Senate Minority leader James Orengo on Wednesday said the schedule creating the extra constituencies is inconsistent with Article 89 that creates a procedure for creating constituencies.
Orengo said the distribution of the new constituencies is not based on any scientific method and that it has caused uproar from some parts of the country.
A section of MPs wondered how the 70 constituencies were introduced and whether the BBI task force received any memoranda calling for their creation.
But Kiunjuri, who was attending a burial service at Marimanti in Tharaka Nithi county on Wednesday, said scrapping the provision would be against the desires of millions of locals who feel aggrieved by their inadequate representation in Parliament.
He said that in October 2019, he met MPs from the region while serving as a Cabinet Secretary to discuss the BBI Bill and they agreed to push for more representation and resources.
Should the provision be done away with, Kiunjuri vowed to start a movement that would fight the bill and rally Mt Kenya residents against it.
“We support the bill but if we are pushed, we will come out and oppose it. This is not a matter of begging. Even if we fight for it alone, we will. As long as the interests of the region are not taken care of, it will be a no vote,” the politician said.
Kiunjuri further appealed to the local leaders to form a front through which they will negotiate for the interests of the people ahead of the next elections. He said political fragmentation currently facing the region may subject it to sidelining as other regions that are more united fight for the leadership of the country.
He said politicians should get together and come up with common demands that they should then present to their respective political factions.
"Even though we are in different political factions, whether Kieleweke, Tangatanga or One Kenya, we have to sit down as leaders and agree to front the region’s interests together such that wherever we go, we will all be pushing for the same things.
Kiunjuri underscored the need for leaders to look beyond their political affiliations to discuss the future of the region. “We need to decide what we will demand for whether the next President will be William Ruto, Raila Odinga or Musalia Mudavadi.”
This comes days after a section of MPs affiliated to Ruto announced that they would open negotiations with the Deputy President as their preferred presidential candidate.
They said the region continues to languish in poverty despite the fact that it is well represented in government.
Edited by Henry Makori