MPs have shot down a proposal for the creation of an office for leader of opposition and two deputies.
The proposal could have seen Wiper leader Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and other Azimio bigwigs get funding from the exchequer after former ODM leader Raila Odinga shifted his attention to the Africa Union Commission top job.
In an interesting twist, the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee rejected the bid saying it undermines the system of governance.
The proposal was first made in a memorandum to Parliament by President William Ruto and later adopted by the National Dialogue Committee.
But MPs, most of them close allies of President Ruto, now say “there is no clear institutional framework for the Office of the Leader of Opposition.”
“Further, it is not clearly provided whether the office will be a public or state office and in which arm of government it will be domiciled,” they said.
The Tharaka MP Gitonga Murugara-led team said the establishment of such an office in Kenya’s current governance system must be clearly defined.
The committee says Kenyans should reconsider the presidential system in favour of a parliamentary system to ‘prevent political instability caused by the winner-takes-it-all system.
“A parliamentary system is more inclusive as argued in the findings of the committee of experts on constitutional review,” the committee said.
Some pundits said the move could be a ploy to deny Kalonzo and other Azimio luminaries the soft landing.
MPs argued that the minority leader is essentially the leader of opposition in Parliament.
“Introducing an office of oppostion profoundly alters the functions of Parliament. The proposal must be subjected to a referendum,” JLAC said.
The committee’s shift in goal posts follows the political developments in the country since December 2022 when President Ruto floated the proposal.
Right after the heavily contested poll, the President was under heavy criticism by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who had discredited his win.
Faced with the protests that ensued, pundits said Ruto sought to appease his political nemesis through the post.
He thus wrote to Parliament asking MPs to amend the constitution to entrench the position into law.
Ruto said it would settle those who emerge second in a presidential race.
“I believe the idea of official opposition, above and beyond mere minority parliamentary leadership, makes tremendous sense,” Ruto said.
“The time has come for us to explore the possibility of remedying this shortcoming.”
The National Dialogue Committee led by Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Kimani Ichung’wa recommended the position to settle the political heat.
As such, the leader of a party with the largest number of votes in an election or a person designated by the qualifying coalition was to take the job.