Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has succumbed to public pressure after thousands of Kenyans rejected his bill seeking to extend the term limits for the President and other elected leaders.
Speaking at the end of the public participation forum where Kenyans overwhelmingly opposed the bill, Cherargei agreed to review the provision.
“I agree entirely, in principle (without proposal) with you and I am waiting for the committee report because there is a procedure for doing that,” he said.
At the close of public participation on Friday, 240,000 Kenyans had sent their memorandum with tens of others making verbal submissions during the public participation forum at KICC in Nairobi.
The memorandum crashed the Senate email system as Kenyans expressed their outrage at the bill.
“Thank you for the overwhelming response to the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2024. Due to high volumes of submissions, our email system has temporarily experienced issues.
“The Senate received over 200,000 submissions, reaching the maximum capacity of the allocated email addresses,” the Senate said.
The Senate Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee conducted the public hearing where hundreds of Kenyans turned up to give their views on the Bill.
JLAC chairman Hillary Sigei said the emails hit 240,000 by the close of the public participation period.
The vocal lawmaker had been caught in the eye of the storm over the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) bill, 2024, which among others extends term limits for elected leaders from the current five to seven years.
Cherargei argued that while Kenya’s progress has always been affected by perpetual politicking, the performance of a leader couldn’t be pegged on their period in office.
“Even as we speak today, we are about three years to the next election but we are in a campaign mood. There is no time to work,” he said.
He added that holding elections every five years is very expensive for taxpayers given that the country’s election is the most expensive.
“By next week, I should be able to give the country the feedback. I will need to go through the emails and the committee report and give the way forward,” he said.
The legislator dispelled claims that he is being used by other forces hellbent on holding onto power, to sponsor the controversial Bill.
The lawmaker, who sat pensively through the proceedings as participants fired salvos at him, said he received more than 10,000 messages and 100,000 phone calls asking him to drop the Bill.
During the hearing, speaker after another spoke about the provision on the extension of the term limits as they took on the Cherargei for being insensitive to the plight of Kenyans.
Sheik Mohamud Kinyua who spoke for the Muslims Professionals League Africa, rejected the Bill, terming it self-seeking.
“We oppose and reject in totality any attempt to increase the term limits of elected leaders because it will erode Kenya’s democratic principles,” Kinyua said.
According to Kinyua, Kenyans must subject such radical amendments to the constitution, to a vote in a referendum.
“I am very sure that when it comes to Kenyans in a referendum, we shall defeat it. People are suffering and we cannot add more misery by extending the term limit,” he said.
Murimi Kogi of the National Students Caucus said Kenyans couldn’t endure seven years for the political class that has proved insensitive to their plight.
Instead, Kogi proposed that the term limit be reduced to four years.
“In two years that this administration has been in place, we have seen rampant corruption, abduction and killings. What will happen if we give it seven years?” he posed.
Edwin Ndeda from the physical disability association faulted the political class for attempting to mutilate the constitution that Kenyans fought for.
“I am saddened that the constitution that we fought for is being raped by the legislature. People think they can increase the term limit at the expense of Mwananchi,” he said.
Chairman Sigei, whose committee has retreated to go through loads of submissions and file a report for tabling in the Senate before the Bill proceeds to the next stage, said they have listened to Kenyans and would not do a report that negates their views.