• LSK dismissed the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020, as unconstitutional.
• Junet and his co-chair in the BBI secretariat Dennis Waweru presented their views to the committee moments after Havi made his submission.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Allies of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga on Thursday made a passionate case for the proposed constitutional changes, terming it a bottom-up and people-led approach to solve the country’s challenges.
But the Law Society of Kenya dismissed the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020 as unconstitutional and a retrogressive proposal advanced by the Executive.
LSK president Nelson Havi came under fire from MP lawyers who accused him of fronting his personal views. Others accused him of serving the interests of other forces.
Appearing before the joint Justice and Legal Affairs Committees of Parliament during a public hearing on the BBI on Thursday, Havi, who led a team of five council members, trashed the document.
He said the process leading to the bill was unstructured, non-participatory, non-transparent and Executive-driven.
“How does a bill incarnated and shepherded in this manner fit the description of a popular initiative bill capable of being considered and approved by Parliament under Article 157?” Havi posed.
“The origin of the amendment bill is traced to the joint communiqués by the President and opposition chief of March 9, 2018, titled, ‘Building Bridges to a new Kenyan nation'."
Havi said the bill seeks to overhaul the Constitution by changing the structure of governance through a process that is not inclusive or participatory.
“The bill does not conform and seeks to alter the norm of the Constitution," Havi said.
He cited the proposal to change the structure of the Constitution by introducing the office of the prime minister and two deputies.
“The current constitution envisages a situation where we have a pure presidential system. Any attempt to alter this is so vast in its scope to be called an amendment,” he said.
Also termed as unconstitutional is the plan to pick Cabinet members from Parliament.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
MPs allied to the handshake partners questioned the origin of Havi's presentation.
Led by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, his Kisumu West counterpart Olago Aluoch and Jennipher Shamala (nominated), the legislators questioned whether the views contained in the document were personal.
They said he never collected views from society members before filing the memorandum.
“We must know in what capacity my five colleagues who are here, are there on their own behalf or LSK because I am not aware. I did not receive any invitation to give my views and I believe I am a ranking member of the society,” Otiende said.
Aluoch said the submission should be treated as personal views because the President never summoned an AGM to get members’ views.
“I don’t think those are the views of LSK, the process has been participatory, open and transparent, Kenyans were given time to participate. You choose not to participate, nobody will force you,” Junet said.
Junet and his co-chair in the BBI Secretariat Dennis Waweru presented their views to the committee moments after Havi made his submission.
The duo, who were accompanied by a team of experts, appealed to Parliament to approve the Bill, saying the proposals will fix the myriad challenges the country has endured.
The team took the committee through every amendment, underscoring the need for each as they discounted misconceptions about some provisions of the Bill.
“I urge the committee to consider this Bill ..….We should not politicise this process,” Junet, an ally of Raila, said.
Priscilla Nyokabi, a director at the Secretariat, said the bill seeks to unlock the country's economic potential, realise the elusive two-thirds gender rule and expedite corruption cases to arrest the vice.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
“The country has concentrated so much on sharing the cake. Not much has been said about the baking of the cake. BBI talks about the economy and shared prosperity,” she said.
“As we were building bridges, women were keen that pending issues such as two-thirds rule be implemented in this opportunity.”
Earlier, Jubilee party secretary general Raphael Tuju led a team of high-ranking officials in making a case for the drive.
“BBI gives us a chance to fix pressing national challenges affecting the wananchi,” Tuju said.
He added that the Bill prioritises the needs of Wanjiku by entrenching socio-economic rights in the Constitution.
The Council of Governors, led by chairman Martin Wambora, Raila's ODM and 14 other entities, made presentations.
Besides LSK all other groups supported the bill.