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Kenya: Bid to Reduce DP Ruto Powers Splits Uhuru, Raila Camp

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Lawmakers allied to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga have differed sharply over a proposal to reduce the powers of the Deputy President and splitting the position into two.

The Bill, which is sponsored by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, will be tabled for first reading when Parliament resumes on November 9.

Mr Kenyatta’s allies have finished drafting the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that also seeks to give the president powers to appoint and dismiss his deputy.

Some MPs support the proposal while others remain cautious.

Lawmakers allied to Mr Odinga have vowed to oppose the bill in Parliament and during a referendum if it gets there.

Mr Kioni, who is also the National Assembly Constitution Implementation and Oversight Committee (CIOC) chairman, wants the president to have powers to drop the deputy at will.

“The principal objective of this bill is to amend the Constitution to enable the president appoint and dismiss the deputy president and create the positions of prime ministers and two deputy prime ministers,” it reads.

Analysts see the bill as an attempt to end a stalemate like the one being witnessed between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.

The two have not been on the same political trajectory since the March9, 2018 handshake between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga.

“The President has a deputy he has no control over yet he is the one who picked him. The Deputy President staged a coup in the ruling Jubilee party and used the same political system to take away the President’s political base,” the Ndaragwa MP said.

“We are lucky to have had Raila who saw the need to save the country through handshake. The bill is meant to ensure the person who chooses the deputy has powers over him or her.”

ODM Political Affairs chief, Opiyo Wandayi, told the Saturday Nation that he would oppose the proposals.

“Passing the bill would recreate an imperial president. It would amount to rolling back the democratic gains the country has realised through a protracted and expensive struggle,” the Ugunja MP said.

“There are adequate constitutional mechanisms for dealing with a rogue deputy president, including impeachment by Parliament.”

Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, another Odinga ally, said the democratic strides the country has made should not be destroyed.

“A constitution is not made for the president and the present. It is for the future too,” Mr Nassir said.

Nominated MP, Godffrey Osotsi, said experience in Kenya and Nigeria has shown that democracies in Africa are not mature to have conjoined presidencies.