Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi now says the recent proposal to increase a presidential term limit is a strategy to divert Kenyans' attention from pressing issues.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei presented a memorandum to the bi-partisan talks seeking to have the presidential term limit pushed to seven years, up from the current five.
Osostsi has, however, accused President William Ruto of using his allies to shift the attention of Kenyans from his failures as president.
Senator Osotsi said President Ruto, realizing that he hasn't fulfilled his campaign promises, is resorting to tactics aimed at distracting the Kenyan public.
The Senator, however, maintained that they will stand firm as the opposition to ensure such proposals do not see the light of the day.
"Opposition will stand firm in pressing the government of the day to observe their two-term limit of five years. What is being discussed out there on extending the term limit can only happen in dreams," Osotsi said.
The Senator said the government should stick to addressing their campaign promises instead of deploying diversionary tactics.
The senator warns that if constitutional matters are introduced into the bi-partisan talks, they might face legal challenges similar to what happened with the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
The proposal to alter the presidential terms limit by Cherargei has sparked angry reactions from a section of Kenyans.
However, the 2010 Constitution provides complex mechanisms for amending certain fundamental provisions, including the term limit for the president.
Article 142(1) provides that the President shall hold office for a term beginning on the date on which the President was sworn in, and ending when the person next elected President in accordance with Article 136 (2) (a) is sworn in.
Article 142(2) provides that a person shall not hold office as President for more than two terms.
A proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be enacted in accordance with Article 256 or 257, and approved by a referendum if the amendment relates to the term of the President.
A proposed amendment shall be approved by a referendum if at least twenty per cent of the registered voters in each of at least half of the counties vote in the referendum.
And if the amendment is supported by a simple majority of the citizens voting in the referendum.
The initiation of the amendments can be by the people through the popular initiative or through Parliament.
