The minority Ilchamus group, a sub-tribe of the Maa speaking community, has appealed to the government to include their welfare in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and give them a constituency.
Speaking in Nakuru town on Monday, led by a former commissioner of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and lawyer Thomas Letangule, they said they are a marginalised group within the meaning of Article 260 of the constitution and, for many years, members have lived under discrimination and deliberate neglect.
Representatives of the community say lack of representation in Parliament for a population of approximately 50,000 people has made them to miss out on funds to support key projects in their areas, and denied them equitable constitutional rights.
Out of the new 70 constituencies proposed in the BBI report, the group insists that one should be reserved for them, especially for the larger group of people living south east of Lake Baringo.
Former IEBC commissioner Thomas Letangule (centre) speaking on behalf of the Ilchamus community leaders in Nakuru on December 7, 2020.
Photo credit: Phyllis Musasia | Nation Media Group
The community claimed that the High Court in 2007 ordered that they be given a constituency in future delimitation of electoral boundaries.
"The court had previously considered the plight of the Ilchamus community and ordered that they be given autonomous representation in Parliament. We are asking the electoral commission to comply with the order," said Mr Letangule.
According to him, the group has never enjoyed direct representation by one of their own since independence.
“In its well-reasoned and detailed analysis, the High Court made final orders by declaring, inter alia, that the constitutional machinery of the Ilchamus had been ignored and declared that the Electoral Commission of Kenya, now IEBC, at its next boundary review, [should] take into account all the requirements set out in the Constitution, particularly considering the need to ensure adequate representation of the community,” the lawyer said.
Former Laikipia North MP Mathew Lempurkel said that the community has been waiting for the implementation of the court order to date and their need for representation is even more urgent than before.
“We note that BBI intends to amend the Constitution as set out in the Amendment Bill of 2020, and to the extent that the Bill seeks to create additional constituencies, it remains bound by the express directions of the court and the Constitution of Kenya, under Article 89 (5),” Mr Lempurkel said.
The former lawmaker noted that the Bill creates additional 70 constituencies without disclosing the procedure to be followed to determine their allocation.
Some of the ILchamus community members who attended a press conference in Nakuru town on December 7, 2020.
Photo credit: Phyllis Musasia | Nation Media Group
“It appears that the drafters of the Bill relied on some selective criteria to arrive at the formation of new constituencies. We therefore note with concern that there is no constituency given to Baringo County, yet, dominant counties like Nairobi have been allotted up to 12 constituencies, notwithstanding the discrete criteria used to arrive at this,” he said.
The group said it is ironic that those who have been seeking representation like them are ignored while those well represented are given more constituencies.
Mr David Lechamani, a representative from Baringo South, said the use of population as the sole criterion for allocation of new constituencies is discriminatory, contradicts the Constitution and sharply departs from the express directions of the High Court in their case.
“It will be absurd to pursue a process of constitutional amendment while disregarding the Constitution that is informing the process. The existing court order in the Ilchamus case cannot be ignored in the process that seeks to create new constituencies,” he said.
The Ilchamus demanded that they be granted a constituency costituting of its wards of Makutani and Ichamus, in compliance with the court order issued on July 17, 2007.
“We have taken the liberty to enclose the said court order herewith for ease of reference by the BBI secretariat,” Mr Lechamani said.
The community threatened to go back to court to enforce their rights if the government fails to comply with their demands.
