Two local voters’ lobby groups have supported calls by a section of Kenyans living in the diaspora urging the political class in the country to halt the proposed constitutional amendments process and focus on combating the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sauti ya Mnyonge and Triple K officials say it is laughable for leaders in the country to be pushing for a plebiscite when Kenyans are being ravaged by the deadly virus.
“We demand that Parliament sees sense and halts this process until the curve is flattened. We cannot have leaders who crave for constitutional changes when citizens are dying,” Sauti ya Mnyonge’s Executive Director David Kimengere said.
Last year, an association of Kenyans in the diaspora — Commonwealth Voter Rights and Privileges Association (Covapra) — asked Kenyans to reject the proposed constitutional amendments in the referendum, saying it would leave Kenyans more divided.
Mr Kimengere, who is also Covapra’s organising secretary, said the third wave of Covid-19 infections in the country is a result of the huge political gatherings that have been held to drum up support for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) referendum and the recent by-elections in several parts of the country.
Economic hardships
“Now that Parliament is suspending its sittings courtesy of the pandemic, it’s time for the political class to reflect on the consequences of a referendum at a time when majority of Kenyans cannot afford a meal due to the hard economic conditions caused by the Covid- 19 pandemic,” he stated.
While announcing new measures to contain the third wave of Covid-19 infections last Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta asked Parliament to suspend in-person sittings until further notice.
The Referendum Bill is before the two House of Parliament having been passed by more than 24 county assemblies.
Covpra has petitioned the political leadership to change course and save Kenyans from “a costly process” at a time when the economy has taken a beating.
“We do not want a process that would leave Kenyans more devastated and divided. Let this process be suspended until the curve flattens and a law is put in place to guide it,” the groups urged.
Covapra maintains that a referendum will leave the country badly divided, citing violence witnessed during the recent parliamentary and ward by-elections.
“If BBI was meant to bring peace in the country, then what we witnessed during some of the recent by-elections suggests that 2022 might be worse,” the group stated in a letter copied to Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga. BY DAILY NATION