• There is a possibility that the team would complete its work before the June deadline.
• The taskforce heads to Mombasa on Saturday for the third consultative forum.
Image: DPPS
A member of the Building Bridges Initiative has revealed that the ongoing process will have Kenyans most certainly go to a referendum.
BBI joint secretary Paul Mwangi said a referendum is inevitable should Kenyans, during the second phase of public participation retain the some of the proposals already contained in the report.
Mwangi, who opened up for the first time about the possibility of the country going to a referendum, explained that there are no other ways of implementing some of the proposed changes.
"If we have all the changes that were proposed in the structure of the Executive, we cannot escape a referendum," he affirmed.
The joint secretary made the remarks during an interview aired on Citizen TV's Newsnight show on Tuesday.
President Uhuru Kenyatta last Monday extended the mandate of the BBI taskforce to June.
The 14-member team is supposed to propose statutory or constitutional changes necessary for the implementation of the BBI report.
The gazettement is however facing legal hurdles after activist Okiya Omtatah challenged the move arguing that the President has no powers to create a committee to steer amendments to the Constitution through a popular initiative.
What Triggers a Referendum in Kenya
Article 255 of the Constitution says that the supreme law can be amended through a referendum if the amendments needed relate to the following matters:
(a) the supremacy of the Constitution;
(b) the territory of Kenya;
(c) the sovereignty of the people;
(d) the national values and principles of governance referred to in Article 10(2)(a) to (d);
(e) the Bill of Rights;
(f) the term of office of the President;
(g) the independence of the Judiciary and the commissions and independent offices to which Chapter Fifteen applies;
(h) the functions of Parliament;
(i) the objects, principles and structure of devolved government; or
(j) the provisions of the Chapter on amendment of the Constitution.
A proposed amendment shall be approved by a referendum if - (a) at least twenty per cent of the registered voters in each of at least half of the counties vote in the referendum; and (b) the amendment is supported by a simple majority of the citizens voting in the referendum.
An amendment to the Constitution that does not relate to a matter specified above is enacted either - (a) by Parliament, in accordance with Article 256; or (b) by the people and Parliament, in accordance with Article 257.
Mwangi said there is a possibility that the team would complete its work before the June deadline.
"It will depend on how much interactions we will have but we will not seek an extension of our mandate unnecessarily by not delivering the report within the stipulated time. We want to complete work in a shorter period and this would be less expensive for Kenyans," he stated.
During the first phase of the consultative forums, the taskforce traversed all the 47 counties to collect opinions on main challenges facing the country, among them election violence.
Mwangi said they intend to print copies which would be issued to Kenyans before they give their views during the upcoming forums.
“At the moment, we are printing copies of the first report but we will also print copies of the final report after the conclusion of the forums,” he explained.
He said the taskforce is looking at ways of disseminating information in a cost effective manner since their resources are limited. “if you tell us you have 200 people and will be deliberating on the report, we will avail the copies,” he added.
He refuted claims that the taskforce already has Sh10 billion for the second phase of the programme.
Mwangi further dismissed claims that BBI has created divisions in the country.
“Political divisions have nothing to do with BBI. Nobody has given us any misgivings about the report,” he added.
The BBI team heads to Mombasa on Saturday for the third consultative forum and then proceed to Kitui on February 1 for the same.
The BBI report proposes that Kenyans continue to elect their President, who remains the Head of State and Government but some leaders want a Premier with executive powers
Kenya will see the return of the position of Prime Minister if the Building Bridges Initiative Taskforce proposals are to be implemented in full.
The report proposes that Kenyans continue to elect their President who remains the Head of State and Government.
The President will then appoint an MP from the largest party or coalition in Parliament as Prime Minister who will take up the position after being approved by Parliament.
The report adds that the Prime Minister shall have supervision and execution of the day-to-day functions and affairs of the Government