Kibaki and Raila upbeat over new law deal

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Friday welcomed the agreement reached by Members of Parliament during their retreat in Naivasha.

Mr Odinga said the Committee of Experts (CoE), which received the MPs’ draft on Friday, would fine-tune the draft constitution before passing it to Parliament for discussion.

In a press statement, President Kibaki on Friday said it was remarkable that members of the committee had come up with a draft that, to a large extent, reflected the wishes of most Kenyans. “I congratulate you and assure you of the government’s full support in the remaining stages of the constitution review process,” he said.

“I am confident that this time our country is on the path to attaining a new constitution that will serve Kenyans well.” The President appealed to all Kenyans to support the remaining stages of the constitution review.

While addressing ODM delegates in Kakamega, Mr Odinga said he and President Kibaki would not interfere with the work of the team preparing the new constitution. “It’s Kenyans to decide what they want in the new constitution,” he said during the meeting at Golf Hotel.

“The CoE will be looking at the issue of number of constituencies that have been proposed in the draft constitution as well as women representation and which seem to have received some opposition due to economic hardships,” the PM said.

Bomas draft

He said Kenyans in 2005 rejected the Bomas draft because it had been mutilated by some individuals. Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi said ODM decided to support a pure presidential system because a parliamentary system that they had rooted for did not get the support.

Mr Mudavadi said the PM and ODM leadership were being briefed on all that took place in Naivasha and expressed confidence that the new constitution will be adopted by Kenyans during the referendum. “We were consulting always and therefore ODM supporters understand that whatever we agreed on had the blessings of the party leadership,” said Mr Mudavadi.

He said the proposed system of government in which a Senate will be established will ensure that the use of devolved funds is well- utilised. “The Senate will scrutinise the use of CDF (Constituency Development Fund) money and will also make laws on how the devolved funds will be utilised,” he said.

Public Service minister Dalmas Otieno praised the proposed draft constitution and asked Kenyans to support it. Mr Otieno said the party changed its position to support the presidential system with checks and balances in place. He said the draft law, if passed during the referendum, will ensure that tribal chiefs and political opportunists are locked out of political office. He added: “Politics based on clan or tribe will never be big enough and you have to seek the support from everyone to become a leader.”

The meeting, which brought together 480 delegates, was attended by ministers Dalmas Otieno, Henry Kosgey and Fredrick Gumo; assistant ministers Sospeter Ojamong’, Manyala Keya and Alfred Khangati; and MPs Ben Washiali, Wilbur Otichilo, Rachael Shebesh, Alfred Sambu and Justus Kizito.

Additional reporting by PPS