• Ruto opposed the ‘politicisation’ of the service, rejecting the formation of the Kenya Police Council to be chaired by the Interior Cabinet Secretary.
• ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi said the appointment of the Office of Judiciary Ombudsman to be done by the Chief Justice and not the Executive.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
After the public debate and scrutiny of BBI report kicking off, the focus has now shifted to some of the concerns by leaders.
Some of the leaders who were given the chance to speak at the Bomas of Kenya on Monday articulated to the Kenyans some of their concerns of the report and used the platform to make their dissenting voices heard.
Below are some of the concerns that were raised.
- How the proposal answers the inclusivity question when the executive offices would be presidential appointees from the majority party.
The BBI report has proposed the creation of the Office of the Prime Minister and two deputies, all appointed by the President.
“The President will appoint the PM and the two deputies from the winning coalition. And then we will have the runners up being the leader of the opposition. The question I am asking myself is, have we sorted out the winner-takes-all question?” DP William Ruto posed.
Amid ‘Respect the President’ chants from the gathering, he added, “For example, we have the president, I am the DP, [Amos] Kimunya is the PM because he is the leader of Majority, Jimmy Angwenyi (National Assembly Chief Whip) as the deputy and Maoka Maore as the other deputy, what happens to the whole Nasa brigade?”
- The proposal to have two political parties participate in the appointment of the IEBC commissioners.
“How fair will be a league where the referee is appointed by teams and not all the teams? How fair will this league be?” Ruto asked.
The report proposes that political parties (one from the Majority party and one from the Minority party) would nominate two members to the vetting panel of IEBC commissioners.
The two nominees shall be among the five who would be appointed by the President to the vetting panel.
Others are the chairperson, who shall be qualified to be a Supreme Court judge, and two members nominated by a joint forum representing religious organisations.
- Envisioned reforms and 'politicisation' of the National Police Service
Ruto opposed the ‘politicisation’ of the service, rejecting the formation of the Kenya Police Council to be chaired by the Interior Cabinet Secretary.
“The 2010 Constitution was very clear that the police must work independently of any politicians whether they are in government or in the opposition. To recommend that we will have a police council chaired by a CS is a derogation from the independence of the police. We must be careful about where we are going," he said.
BBI proposes the creation of the council to replace the National Police Service Commission. It will be responsible for policy coordination of the National Police Service and perform any other function prescribed by national legislation.
- Proposal to have the creation of the Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman who will be a presidential appointee
Ruto termed the proposal as a derogation on the independence of the Judiciary.
“We must be careful about the independence of institutions. We are coming from a history where judges received telephone calls. Where courts were held at night. We do not want to go back there,” he reckoned.
ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi said the appointment of the Office of Judiciary Ombudsman to be done by the Chief Justice and not the Executive.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
He argued that the independence of the Judiciary would be eroded if the appointment is made by the President.
The BBI provides for the nomination and appointment of the Ombudsman for a five-year term by the President with the approval of the National Assembly.
“It would be good to make the Judiciary more independent. To enhance the independence of the Judiciary, the appointment of the Ombudsman should be done by the Chief Justice, not the head of state,” he said.
- How to strengthen the senate with the more money they will be receiving
Mudavadi said the document needs to re-look at how the Senate can be strengthened now that more money will be going to the counties.
The BBI proposes to increase the minimum share of revenue to 35 per cent. Counties have been receiving a minimum of 15 per cent of the most-recent audited revenue accounts of the national government.
- Powers conferred on Salaries and Remuneration Commission should be reduced
Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli said the powers conferred on the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) needed to be reduced.
He said SRC's new mandate would render unions useless as the commission would have its powers expanded to negotiate and set the salaries of public servants.
- Gender representation within the expanded executive
Led by Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu, the women said, for instance, the executive under BBI must embrace the two-thirds principle.
Ngilu said the Judiciary should also ensure that the rule is adhered to in their top leadership.
She said the current Constitution did not conclusively give guidelines on how the two-thirds rule was to be achieved.
"Ten years down the line, a time has come for us to review what has not worked and change it. This is a timely way to bring all Kenyans on board through the BBI," Ngilu said.
- Politicising the BBI report
President Uhuru Kkenyatta said, "Let us not entertain sideshows.. there are too many side shows that are stopping Kenya from being great."
"I believe that we can achieve it and overcome this hurdle. We pretend we are national leaders but when the time comes, we switch to vernacular and become what we are."
Outgoing Christ is the Answer Ministries (Citam) Bishop David Oginde called upon the politicians in the country to be at the forefront in uniting Kenyans.
Making his address on Monday at the Bomas of Kenya during the launch of the Building Bridges Initiative, Oginde pleaded with the politicians to allow the current proposals to lay a foundation for the future of the nation.
"Politicians somehow believe that the only way to succeed is to divide us into a dichotomous category of us versus them yet political interests shift rapidly,” he said.
- Negative, tribal politics
The President admitted that the politicians, including himself, were to blame for the “mess” the country had found itself in, particularly with regard to tribal politics that stoked conflict every election.
“The fact of the matter is, we’re a tribal society and we want to run from that. Let us not cheat one another. I’ll also admit that I’ve been part and parcel of negative politics.That’s why we must address the issue of inclusivity so that every single community will feel they’re part and parcel of this country,” he said.
- BBI not about 2022 politics
While dismissing reports that he will contest in the 2022 presidency, ODM party leader Raila Odinga said, "Raila has not declared he wants to run for the presidency".
Raila said for now, the Jubilee government must be given time to complete on their four-point agenda before 2022 politics kicks in.
"Right now they are all in government, serving as a pair and must be given time to complete what they have to now and not wait for 2022," Raila said.
However, Raila also took the opportunity to make subtle jabs at Deputy President William Ruto, saying those who keep talking about what they will do in 2022, should do those things now.