Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga has told off a section of Kenyans opposed to some of the constitutional amendment proposals contained in the recently unveiled Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.
Speaking during the launch of the BBI Referendum Bill at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Odinga said a Prime Minister nominated by President and approved by Parliament won’t give Kenya an imperial presidency as claimed.
Raila stated that the proposal to create an independent office of the Judiciary Ombudsman, whose holder shall be appointed by the President will promote oversight of the third arm of government.
“The Ombudsman will be interviewed by a panel and three names be submitted to the President who will pick one and send to parliament for vetting and finally be appointed by the President. How does that erode the independence of the judiciary?” Odinga posed.
The proposal had been opposed by Deputy President William Ruto, who during the launch of the BBI report on October 26 at Bomas of Kenya, noted that it waters down judiciary’s independence.
Odinga also addressed claims by a section of Kenyans including the DP that it would be unfair to allow political parties to participate in the process of appointing commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The ODM leader defended the proposal saying it will help in promoting the independence of the electoral commission because of equal representation.
The DP, who continues to call for consensus in the constitutional amendment process, gave the event a wide berth.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on his part reiterated that the BBI constitutional reforms will help in dealing with among others Kenya’s political problems.
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“If there had been no handshake this country would have been brought to its knees, ” he said.
“I am confident that this process had been widely consultative. This isn’t the end of the process. Kenyans will eventually make a decision on the fate of the Referendum Bill.”
President Kenyatta and Odinga are among who first signed off on the document during the launch, setting the stage for the collection of one million signatures required to initiate the referendum process.
Below are the steps in which Kenyans can use to append their signature on the document;
Log on to bbisignatures.org
On the website, Kenyans would get an opportunity to read through the BBI report as well as the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2020.
After perusal of the two documents, one can either decline to sign or endorse the BBI Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2020 by signing.
The items required before signing include;
National ID/Passport (the one used during voter registration)
First Name
Last Name
Telephone Number
Email Address
Gender
County
Constituency
Ward
Polling Station
One would also be required to confirm if the information provided is correct, then proceed to sing using a touchpad or mouse, before clicking on the endorse tab.
 party leader Raila Odinga has told off a section of Kenyans opposed to some of the constitutional amendment){kind=link}