Kenyans have rejected the proposal to modify the term limit by the Nandi Senator, Samson Cherargei, in it’s totality, citing a blatant egocentric consciousness by the aristocratic class to reward themselves at the expense of the alienated and suffering households.
The parliament had invited the public to submit their views on the proposed constitutional amendment billearlier this to October 25th, 2024, where a public hearing was to take place at the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC), conducted by a Cherargei-led team from the parliament.
The Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, and Human Rights, steering the memoranda and public hearing, however, alerted the citizens a few days ago, prior to the deadline, which prompted thousands of Kenyans to actively begin the participation process.
As of Thursday evening, hundreds of thousands of rejection submissions were sent to the clerk’s email address, rendering the system dysfunctional.
As the public hearing was on at the KICC, the Senate reported through their X handle that they no longer were able to receive more submissions as a result of an overstretched allowed limit, crashing the email system—prompting them to provide an alternative email address to accommodate Kenyans who were yet to submit their views before the end of the deadline.
“Thank you for the overwhelming response on The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024. Due to high volumes of submissions, our email system has temporarily experienced issues,” the Senate’s update through X.
“The Senate received over 200,00 submissions, reaching the maximum capacity of the allocated email addresses. Alternative, you may send your submissions to senatejlahrc@parliament.go.ke,” it added.
Most of the participants were social media users; however, many people not prevalent on social media platforms were getting the information for the first time, either through televisions, radio stations, or magazines. The public hearing was rather stationed only in Nairobi’s KICC than being taken to the constituency levels where the majority of electorates dwell.
Kenyans of all walks of life, including the minority groups staying in Nairobi, in their limited numbers were present at the KICC today to present their opinions, which were deliberately personal on the matter. Some rejected, unleashing their disappointment, while others gave reasons to support the proposal.
In addition to that, the Kiambu Senator, Karungo wa Thwang’wa, proposed a 4-year term limit instead of 7 years due to the integrity deficit and intolerance by Kenyans toward the political, who claimed to have triggered a lot of problems in the country. He called on all Kenayans to come out in enlarged numbers to oppose the proposal.
The proposed bill by the Nandi Senator, Samson Cherargei, is seeking a plethora of constitution amendments, but one that caught the eye of Kenayns is the proposal to increase the term limits for all elected leaders, including the president, members of parliament, the governor, and members of the county assembly.
The proposed bill is also seeking to create the position of the Prime Minister, who shall be appointed by the President from among the members of parliament.
Kenyans disconteted by the mover have, however, proposed the reduction of their term limits, even to three years, languishing over the problems the current regime has triggered since assuming the office. UDA, the political party behind President Ruto’s regime, had earlier distanced itself from the said term limit extension proposals.
Senator for Nandi had argued that the extension of the term limit was necessary to give the elected leaders more time to deliver, which he claimed they were not able to do under the current allowed duration due to electoral legal battles that ensued from early campaigns.
