• The Bill has to be endorsed in at least 24 of the 47 counties to sail through to the next stage.
• Thirdway Alliance secretary-general Fredrick Okango nonetheless said leaders should not tell MCAs to wait for another Bill and yet they cannot see any signs of it.
The influence President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime minister Raila Odinga have sealed the fate of Thirdway Alliance Party’s push for a constitutional amendment.
The party’s Punguza Mizigo Bill has been rejected in devolved units where the two leaders enjoy massive support and has only been passed in one county; Uasin Gishu- the backyard of Deputy President William Ruto.
The Bill has been rejected in Siaya, Murang'a, Kirinyaga, Garissa, Homabay, Kiambu and most recently in Kisii county.
The Bill has to be endorsed in at least 24 of the 47 counties to sail through to the next stage.
Raila has openly opposed the Punguza Mizigo Bill and has even asked Kenyans to await the report of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a product of the famous handshake of the President and him.
Die-hard supporters of the President, on the other hand, have also dismissed the Punguza Mizigo Bill and declared that the BBI is the way to go if the country is to have an amendment to the Constitution.
Kiambu county, the backyard of the President, on Wednesday rejected Ekuru Aukot’s Punguza Mizigo Bill and just a day later, Kisii county followed suit.
After Kiambu shot down the Bill, Kirinyaga governor Ann Waiguru was quick to react, and she was full of praise for Kiambu’s ward representatives and those from other devolved units in Central Kenya that had already shot down the Bill.
“Kirinyaga, Murang’a, and now Kiambu. Well in!! Mt. Kenya tuko chonjo (we are alert). Twendele hivyo hivyo (Lets us continue like that). Firmly behind H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta and his agenda for a peaceful and cohesive nation,” she posted on Twitter.
In Kisii, the Bill was not endorsed by a single member and area governor James Ongwae applauded the MCAs for resoundingly making that decision.
Thirdway Alliance secretary-general Fredrick Okango nonetheless said leaders should not tell MCAs to wait for another Bill and yet they cannot see any signs of it.
“It is like telling your kids, don't eat now and wait for another baby who is to be born and they are not even seeing any signs of pregnancy. That is what the two leaders are trying to tell Kenyans,” he explained.
He continued: “We want to ask them to allow MCAs to debate the Bill and approve it on its merits or disapprove it on its demerits.”
Okango added that in instances where the Bill has been “rejected”, it has never been debated but rejected on a technicality.
“This is an external Bill that cannot be rejected on a technicality. It has a constitution timeline of 90 days,” he added.
Speaking to the Star, Okango stated that Bill would take services closer to the people, safeguard devolution and is pro-women.
“If Uhuru and Raila are serious about fighting theft and strengthening devolution, Puguza Mizigo is the way to go. The two should rally their supporters and regions they perceive to be theirs to support this bill,” he reiterated.
Okango admitted that utterances politicians are making out there is interfering with the outcome of the Bill.
ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna however feels the Punguza Mizigo Bill is being rejected on its demerits.
“If you listen to the debates before the Bill is rejected, MCAs give reasons why they oppose the Bill and they do not do it because their parties have told them to do so,” he explained.
He continued: “In Homabay, if you followed the debate, they are giving the reasons for rejecting the Bill.”
He added that it would not be fair to say that MCAs are rejecting the Bill because Raila or even Uhuru told them to do so. “These are intelligent leaders. They are leaders in their own right and their decisions are based on their judgments,” added Sifuna.
ANC deputy party leader Ayub Savula said they had a meeting and rejected the Bill.
“Out of the 24 of the 47 counties the Bill is supposed to be endorsed to succeed, none will be an ANC county. We are minority leader in Kakamega County, majority leader in Vihiga county, minority leader in Busia county and minority leader in Bungoma county. They will not get anything in all these areas,” Savula added.
The County Assemblies Forum (CAF)- the coordinating body of the 47 assemblies, on the other hand had indicated that the Bill should be subjected to public participation process first before the MCAs debate it further.
CAF indicated that it will convene on October 11 and come up with a common position on the Punguza Mizigo Bill. CAF said it wants to consider views from the public before giving directions to the county assemblies.
Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetangula and his Wiper counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka have also dismissed Thirdway Alliance constitution amendment initiative.
Wetang’ula says the initiative does not address the pertinent issues affecting Kenyans while Kalonzo avers that the Bill tries to hoodwink county assemblies into believing they would be given more funds for their wards.
In Uasin Gishu county, the ward reps overwhelmingly endorsed the Bill just days after Kapsaret MP Oscar Sudi- a close ally of Ruto warmed up to Aukot and appealed to the region to support Punguza Mizigo Bill and reject the Building Bridges Initiative.
Days later, some 15 MPs from Mt Kenya announced that they are opposed to the BBI arguing the outfit main agenda is to create seats for rich political rejects.
The Punguza Mizigo Bill is seeking to reduce the number of MPs, abolish Woman Representative and Deputy Governor positions.
The Bill seeks to reduce the cost of running Parliament. It further, it wants to address over-representation by reducing the number of MPs. The party is also proposing a seven-year term for the President down from the maximum of two five-year terms.
To address gender inequality, it proposes Kenyans elect one man and woman from each of the 47 counties into the National Assembly.
It also wants to abolish nominations to the county assemblies and the Senate. Thirdway Alliance also proposes the Senate to be made an upper house with veto powers and an increase in county revenue share to 35 per cent from the current 15 per cent.