- Cherargei said that every Kenyan has a right to engage in the National Dialogue Committee.
- He expressed his dissatisfaction with the committee saying that he has raised serious concerns in the proposal.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has slammed the bipartisan committee for not giving him a chance to submit his proposal.
Members of the public and other stakeholders from different sectors have been appearing before the dialogue committee with varied proposals touching on various issues raised.
While speaking on Monday, Cherargei said that the National Dialogue Committee did not find time to allow him to make an oral presentation.
"I respectfully ask the National Dialogue Committee to listen to all Kenyans. He said that Kenyans still have a lot of concerns that impact them directly," he said.
"If the committee does not allow all Kenyan's concerns including mine, they will not have earned Kenya's trust. Their main concern should be to listen to Kenyans not sitting at Bomas to receive allowances."
Cherargei said that every Kenyan has a right to engage in the National Dialogue Committee.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the committee saying that he has raised serious concerns in the proposal.
"We are paying them a lot of money but they do not have time to listen to the issues of national concern. This is discrimination because they have listened to other stakeholders but they have not listened to all stakeholders. I have written a protest letter to the committee to totally disagree with them because it is total disregard to issues of national principals," he said.
Cherargei caused an uproar among Kenyans, including leaders allied to the Kenya Kwanza administration by proposing that the presidential term limit be extended to seven years.
The Nandi Senator submitted the proposal when he made his memorandum to the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), earlier in the week.
“Increase the presidential term to seven years: Whereas the current Constitution provides for a two-term presidential term limit comprising ten years there is a need to increase the same to two terms of seven years each, ” Cherargei told the dialogue committee.
He defended the proposal, explaining that there is a need to give the President ample time to form and establish a formidable team to deliver on his or her manifesto.
"Besides, the Kenyan presidential election is always highly profiled as a result of it being conducted within a short period of time, thus making it a do-or-die adventure," Cherargei argued.
Despite this, the president's party, the United Democratic Alliance, strongly disagreed with the proposal and distanced itself from the Senator's "opinion".