Kenyan court of appeal

Kenya : judges reject president’s appeal to change constitution

Judges of the Kenyan court of Appeal have rejected the plan of President Uhuru Kenyatta to change the country’s constitution. The judges called the president’s project “unconstitutional and unlawful.”

The proposition is nicknamed the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), and is spearheaded by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his political nemesis-turned ally, Raila Odinga.

It had sought to make these and other changes:

  • Introducing the position of a prime minister as a way to dilute power
  • Giving Kenya’s 47 counties bigger budgets to implement development schemes
  • Making the cabinet leaner and more representative of the nation
  • Giving corruption scam whistleblowers 5% of any funds recovered.

Today’s judgement will be seen as a win for Deputy President William Ruto, who had opposed BBI.

There are speculations that Mr Kenyatta and his rival turned ally Raila Odinga have plans to share power.

In a statement sent before the judges finished reading their judgement, Mr Odinga said it was “time to move on”:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *