Law reforms might extend Uhuru term, warns Mudavadi

Amani Kenya Party leader Musalia Mudavadi. He has called for constitution changes two years before 2022 polls. [File, Standard]

Opposition leader Musalia Mudavadi has warned that the push for constitutional reforms might be used to extend President Uhuru Kenyatta's reign.

The Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader said the reforms must be effected two years before elections to allow parliament legislate on affected laws.

"Any delay will seriously affect the quality, credibility and soberness of the reforms. If they come towards the 2022, they will be blurred by the politics of the day," he said.

Mudavadi said questions in the proposed referendum should not include granting Uhuru another opportunity to run in 2022.

He cited changes prior to the 1992 multi party politics that saw the then President Daniel Arap Moi, who had been in power since 1978, eligible to run for two more five-year terms.

"Those who remember, after the law was changed in the nineties, it allowed President Moi to serve another 10 years after he had finished 14 years. This could be repeated," said Mudavadi.

He said similar moves had happened in the region including in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.

Mudavadi, who is setting up a presidential campaign centre for 2022 polls, admitted that the opposition had been weakened after the handshake between Uhuru and National Supper Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga. He warned that this did not augur well for the country.

The alliance, he said, had been rattled by the handshake.

"The handshake has temporarily disoriented the opposition, and this has weakened the oversight role it played. It is becoming difficult to challenge the government, which is not a good thing for the country," said Mudavadi.

Saying he supported the handshake for cooling political temperatures in the country, Mudavadi said he was worried that the weakening of the opposition could have a negative impact on democracy and governance.

Conflicted approach

"We currently have a conflicted approach to the role of the opposition, our partners in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) no longer know where they sit in the arrangement, whether they in government or not," he said.

Mudavadi called on Uhuru to set up a judicial commission of inquiry to address raging scandals in the country including sugar.

According to the ANC leader, a public inquiry would help get to the bottom of the sugar scandal and bring to light the flaws and the systemic failures that led to the imports.

"The issue at hand touches on the lives of Kenyans, farmers incomes and jobs in the sugar industry which is at jeopardy. As a country we need to get to the bottom of the matter if we are to solve it once and for all," said Mudavadi.

Mudavadi warned against politicising the scandal saying this would deny Kenyans an opportunity to get to the bottom of the matter.

"It is only through a commission of inquiry that we would able to know who authorised what and why there was a gazette notice that did not explain the deficit and what was to be imported," said Mudavadi.

According the former finance minister, a public hearing would allow whistle blowers to assist investigating agencies dig deeper into the scandal.

"The inquiry will help Uhuru have a clear picture and get recommendations that would be resourceful in future in averting other scandals," he said.

He questioned why the four month sugar importation window was opened during the electioneering period.

"That is the same period we were campaigning, could this have helped our competitors finance their campaigns? We do not know," he said.