Crashed: Kenyan Platform Overwhelmed as Citizens Flood Feedback on Presidential Term Limits
Kenyans have responded overwhelmingly to the proposal aiming to extend term limits for elected officials, including the president, with initial feedback revealing strong resistance to the Bill.
Just hours before the Friday, October 25, 2024, deadline, the volume of submissions exceeded the capacity of the designated email addresses as the Senate received more than 200,000 responses.
In response, the Senate apologized for the inconvenience and encouraged Kenyans to continue sending their opinions via an alternate email address.
“We appreciate the overwhelming response to The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2024. Due to the high submission volume, our email system encountered temporary issues,” read a post on the Senate’s official X account.
The Senate’s decision came shortly after public hearings on The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2024, began before the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
Submissions could also be mailed to the Clerk of the Senate or hand-delivered to the Office of the Clerk at Parliament before the deadline.
The Bill, proposed by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, seeks to amend sections 101, 177, and 180 of the Constitution, extending the terms of MCAs, MPs, Senators, and Governors from five to seven years.
Senator Cherargei argues that five years is insufficient for leaders to fully execute their mandates, yet the proposal has sparked widespread public outrage, with leaders from his ruling party eager to quash it.
Some Kenyans have speculated that the close ally of President William Ruto is being used by the government to gauge public opinion on the issue.
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary-General Hassan Omar called on party members to distance themselves from the contentious Bill.
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“This is a blatant attack on our constitutional values that must be halted immediately,” Mr. Omar declared.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah labeled the Bill “dead on arrival,” expressing confidence it would be defeated in the National Assembly.
“That legislative proposal by Cherargei on term limits is dead on arrival, no question. He should spare his time, that of other senators, and taxpayers’ money,” Mr. Ichung’wah recently posted on his X account.
Senator Cherargei’s Bill also aims to strengthen Senate powers by granting it exclusive authority to vet and approve state officials, such as cabinet secretaries, the Attorney-General, the director of public prosecutions, the Chief Justice, and judges, among others.
Additionally, it proposes shifting the mandate for filing petitions for the removal of a member of a constitutional commission or independent officeholder to the Senate, rather than the National Assembly as currently stated.
It also seeks that both Houses of Parliament approve any deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces within the country, contrasting the current requirement where only the National Assembly gives such approval.
Initially read in the Senate on September 26, the Bill was forwarded to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and has been undergoing public review since October 2.
Crashed: Kenyan Platform Overwhelmed as Citizens Flood Feedback on Presidential Term Limits
