Kenyans were invited by the Senate committee on Justice and Legal Aff airs to submit their views on the controversial Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2024 sponsored by Samson Cherargei.
In this bill, the effable and chubby senator of Nandi has taken on the unenviable task of defending the indefensible.
He is so impressed by the noble work of his fellow politicians that he is urging the good people of Kenya to reward them by extending their term of office from the constitutionally mandated five years to seven years.
The legal mind from Mosop observes that seven years will enable the President to have a good opportunity to deliver his manifesto especially in the face of persistent electoral disputes, including presidential election results, which are contested in court.
Besides, the man on a mission opines that frequent elections disrupt governance and slow down long-term projects that could benefit the nation.
To spice up the broth, the master political chef throws in a few spices. In a political masterstroke, he deftly creates the position of the Prime Minister, who he wants to be appointed by the President.
I don’t know what the good senator has been smoking or imbibing lately but whatever it is, he should stop. What the nerve, what a sense of entitlement? That one individual can think that they, alone, can sit in some corner and arrogate the power of the people’s will and rewrite the governance architecture is unfathomable.
Presidential term limits, while ostensibly designed to preserve democratic integrity and prevent power consolidation, can spark debates over ideology versus political opportunism as well as the supremacy of the political will of the people and the rule of law.
Consequently, Kenyans from all walks of life have been seized of this matter. Commentaries upon commentaries have been elucidated.
Many have gone academic and espoused the pros and cons of term limits. They have rightfully argued that term limits reflect an ideological commitment to checks and balances, intended to ensure no single individual or party monopolises leadership.
In the US, for instance, the 22nd Amendment was passed after Franklin D Roosevelt’s four terms, embodying the principle that democracy is safeguarded by limiting executive tenure.
In nations like Ghana, Namibia and Botswana, term limits have been consistently respected, contributing to relatively stable democratic practices.
These countries often serve as positive examples where term limits are upheld, enabling periodic leadership changes and fostering a political culture of regular transitions.
Several African countries have amended their constitutions to remove or extend term limits, often allowing incumbent leaders to stay in power longer.
In Uganda President Yoweri Museveni successfully removed both age and term limits, allowing him to remain in office since 1986. In Rwanda, in 2015, a referendum allowed President Paul Kagame to extend his rule potentially until 2034.
Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea are other examples where leaders have ruled for decades, often by sidestepping or eliminating term limits.
The debate thus centres on two main questions: Are term limits a necessary safeguard to prevent tyranny and promote democracy? Or when adjusted to suit political needs, do they become mere tools for extending infl uence under the guise of ideological principles?
This ongoing debate underscores the balance between preserving democratic ideals and the tendency for political systems to be vulnerable to manipulation.
With a sneer, the people of Kenya have told off the Nandi senator and reminded him that they can smell his type and those he works for. It doesn’t matter the amount of cologne they swim in or the million shilling watches and belts they strut.
The public mood against the extension of term limits is clear - it is so unpopular and so uncalled for, that the fact that Cherargei continues to prosecute it must mean only one thing: that something more fundamental, more sinister is afoot.
Kenyans must look beyond the obvious and unmask the veiled interests it represents and speaks for. This idiocy of extending term limits needs to be seen against the backdrop of the movement to limit political terms that is steamrolling through American politics.
Voters have approved term limits for Congressmen in each of the fifteen states where referenda have been held. Such substantial public support suggests widespread distaste for careerism in politics, as well as a conviction that continual infusion of fresh blood into the legislature will be good for both Parliament and the country.
Cherargei’s term limits scheme must be seen as part of a wider plot to derail the focus of Kenyans on issues that matter: issues of governance, tenderpreneurship, extrajudicial killings, political brutality, health care, education, infrastructure development and fiscal impropriety.
Cherargei speaks for a representative system that has gone rogue, unable and incapable of discharging its mandate and instead engaging in sideshows, dancing to the piper’s music their masters are bankrolling.
The writer teaches
Globalisation
and International
Development
at Pwani
University and is
a programmes
associate at DTM, a
media CSO.
