NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 1 – Kenya Kwanza leaders have lauded the Supreme Court ruling that declared the constitution amendment bill 2020 popularly known as the Building Bridges Initiative unconstitutional (BBI).
Speaking during a press conference, Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi described the ruling as a win for all Kenyans and a clear indication that it was time for Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga to be sent home.
“It is apparent that the people are the rightful masters of the cause, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution,” he stated. “Time is nigh, for the Kenyan people to send the handshake brothers home.”
In a press briefing attended by all the Kenya Kwanza Alliance principals including William Ruto (UDA), and Moses Wetangula (Ford Kenya), Mudavadi laughed off at Odinga’s banter that ‘nobody can stop reggae’ saying it was now time for economic revolution.
“It is clear that the handshake “Reggae’ has been stopped and time for the Kenyan People to be serenaded with the tunes of changing the economy, the tune capsulated in the new dance, the dance to make Kenya a safe haven for all,” he said.
He praised the seven-judge bench for defending the sanctity of the constitution and stated that ‘Kenyans are the rightful masters of the constitution.
The leaders pointed out that the move by the Supreme Court has saved the taxpayers an economic burden as the implementation of the constitutional changes would have further dried up the public coffers.
“It is important to note, that BBI as crafted would have cost Kenyans an upward of an additional Sh565 billion annually to implement. We laud the judges for upholding the rule of law and sanctity of the Constitution,” Mudavadi stated.
This is even as Kenya Kwanza Alliance legislators are mooting moving a motion to compel the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu to undertake a forensic audit of the funds spent to propel the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
The leaders have vowed to use the parliamentary route to ensure the auditor general unearth details on the matter.
“Our members at National assembly are moving a motion compelling the auditor general to undertake a forensic audit on all public funds spent in the illegal process from inception to date,” Mudavadi said.
Kenya Kwanza Alliance are pushing Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani and his principal secretary Julius Muia to be found culpable for any illegal utilization of the public funds in the process thwarted by the Supreme Court.
“We wish to remind the Principal Secretaries and the Accounting Officers who misused their offices in diverting public funds to the BBI initiative, that they are accountable to the public for their illegal decisions and actions as per Article 73 (2) (d) of Chapter Six of the Constitution,” Mudavadi noted.
Mudavadi claimed that Sh10 billion has been wasted in the BBI charade with the common mwananchi bearing the brunt of an illegal process which should not have been initiated from the onset.
“It’s not lost to Kenyans the colossal sum of money spent by the promoters of this unconstitutionality. We are aware they BBI promoters spent Sh10 billion collecting views,” said Mudavadi.
The majority ruling by a seven-judge bench found that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s involvement in the process was unlawful.
Six of the seven judges agreed that the President cannot initiate the process.
In a summarized judgement, Chief Justice Martha Koome further stated that the creation of 70 new constituencies was also against the law.
“In the BBI appeal, we have allowed 5 and disallowed 2,” she stated.
The 7-judge bench focused on 7 areas that included basic structure doctrine, whether the President can initiate a popular initiative, creation of 70 new constituencies, whether the President can be sued, public participation, whether the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was properly constituted and the referendum questions.
