William Ruto, Raila Odinga allies set for clash over referendum law

Allies of Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga are headed for a clash in Parliament over two referendum bills currently before the House.

The thorny issue is a proposal by the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) in its Bill that seeks to have a referendum in 2022 alongside the general election.

The Orange party, through chairman John Mbadi, has termed the proposal as “suspicious”, claiming it echoes the voice of those opposed to the country having a plebiscite.

The Odinga-led party has said it will support a similar Bill sponsored by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) that proposes that a referendum be held within 90 days after passage of the proposed law.

MORE CONSULTATIVE

Mr Mbadi Monday said the legal committee’s Bill is also rich in content and was more consultative in its drafting, unlike the CIOC one.

He confirmed to the Nation that he has held meetings about the two bills and resolved as a party that they are more comfortable with the JLAC proposal.

“The CIOC Bill is speaking the language of those who have all along been opposed to a referendum. It has the language of detractors and as a party, we are not comfortable with it,” Mr Mbadi said.

“I don’t know who sponsored the CIOC Bill, but it is suspect and opaque even on the manner it was brought to the House.”

The lawmaker, who is also the National Assembly Minority leader, said the House Business Committee (HBC), which determines the agenda of Parliament, had sat and agreed to harmonise the two Bills.

UHURU, RAILA UNITY

This, coupled with the unity between President Kenyatta’s and Mr Odinga’s allies in the House after the recent successful purge in committees last week, will make the bill sail through with ease.

“We felt the CIOC was meant to scuttle the Bill by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee. We also felt a senior politician was behind it hence it had to be shelved,” said another ODM MP who sits in JLAC but did not want to be named.

However, Jubilee-Secretary General Caleb Kositany said it would be wrong for the CIOC Bill to be dropped because of the proposal of holding the referendum together with the 2022 poll.

“We should take matters of constitutional change seriously. We should not change the Constitution for the benefit of a few leaders,” he said.

Mr Kositany also told off those linking the DP to the CIOC Bill.

‘DP BUSY’

“People should move on with their lives and stop using the DP as a scapegoat. The DP is busy doing other things,” he said.

In a bid to shoot down the CIOC Bill, ODM has adopted a three-pronged approach, based on recommendations of a legal team that briefed Mr Odinga.

First is a proposal that the two committees sit and agree in principle so that Ndaragua MP Jeremiah Kioni withdraws his bill since they are pursuing the same thing.

“Once we agree in principle that the JLAC Bill will give the country a better law, then the respective chairs will just withdraw the other one. It’s the easiest option that we can use,” said a member of JLAC who did not want to be named.

STANDING ORDERS

Secondly, the Speaker Justin Muturi will be persuaded to use his powers under Standing Orders to rule that Parliament cannot pursue the same Bill in two committees.

Should the first two options fail to materialise, then the two Bills will be allowed to proceed, but priority given to the JLAC one until it undergoes all stages and assented to by President Kenyatta.

Before BBI rallies were halted by coronavirus, Mr Odinga had hinted that there would be a referendum in June after the task force completed its findings and report.

UNNECESSARY COSTS

Although the two bills aim at crafting a law to guide how a referendum is conducted, they part ways in several ways, especially on timelines.

For instance, while the JLAC bill proposes that the referendum question be framed within 21 days, CIOC — chaired by Mr Kioni — seeks to have the same done within 14 days.

The bill by JLAC currently chaired by Kangema MP Muturi Kigano also proposes that a petition challenging a referendum outcome be filed in 28 days, while CIOC is proposing 14 days.

While JLAC says the electoral commission should present the referendum results to the President in seven days, CIOC wants the results declared within 48 hours.

Mr Kioni argued that the intention of having the referendum and the election held on the same day is to minimise unnecessary costs.

According to the Constitution, a general election is to be held on the second Tuesday of August every election year, meaning that the next election is due on August 9, 2022.

This means the much hyped referendum can only be held in 2022 if the House goes with the CIOC Bill.