Senate inbox fills as Kenyans react to proposal on presidential term extension
Kenyans have submitted an overwhelming response to the proposal to extend the term limit of elected leaders, among them the president, with initial analysis pointing to strong opposition to the Bill.
Hours before the close of the exercise on Friday, October 25, 2024, the memoranda had hit the maximum capacity of the allocated email addresses after the Senate received over 200,000 submissions.
The Senate, while apologising for the inconvenience caused, called on Kenyans to continue sending their views through an alternative email address.
“Thank you for the overwhelming response to The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2024. Due to the high volume of submissions, our email system has temporarily experienced issues,” they posted on their official X account.
The Senate took the step shortly after the beginning of the public hearing on The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2024, before the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The memoranda could also be submitted to the Clerk of the Senate through their postal address or hand-delivered to the Office of the Clerk at the main Parliament buildings before the deadline.
Among other proposals, the Bill sponsored by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei seeks to amend sections 101, 177, and 180 of the Constitution to extend terms of office of MCAs, MPs, Senators and Governors from the current five to seven years.
While Senator Cherargei argues that five years is not enough for leaders to fully implement their constitutional mandates, the proposals have been greeted with public outrage, with leaders of his ruling party scrambling to stop it.
Some Kenyans have claimed that the close ally of President William Ruto is being used by the regime to test the waters.
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary-General Hassan Omar urged party members to disassociate themselves from the controversial Bill.
“This is a delinquent affront to our constitutional values that must now be crushed to a halt,” Mr Omar stated.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa called the Bill “dead on arrival”, as he expressed confidence that it would not see the light of day once it lands in the National Assembly.
“That Cherargei legislative proposal on term limits is dead on arrival, period. He should save his own time, that of other senators, and taxpayers’ money,” Mr Ichung’wah recently said on his X account.
Senator Cherargei’s Bill further seeks to enhance the powers of the Senate by giving it the exclusive mandate to vet and approve state officers, including cabinet secretaries, the Attorney-General, the director of public prosecutions, the Chief Justice and judges, among others.
It also proposes that the Senate take over the mandate of filing petitions for the removal of a member of a constitutional commission or holder of an independent office as opposed to the National Assembly as currently provided.
On the other hand, it provides that both Houses of Parliament shall approve the deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces in any part of the country, a departure from the current scenario where the National Assembly approves such deployment.
The Bill, which was first read in the Senate on September 26 before being committed to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee for consideration, has been undergoing public participation since October 2.
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