Okoa Kenya push ‘on course’
Senators Moses Kajwang (left), Mutula Kilonzo Junior(Centre) and Hassan Omar going through copies of the Okoa Kenya referendum booklets containing signatures that were collected in the country when Cord leaders received them at Okoa Kenya offices in Nairobi's Lavington on October 28, 2015. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- They had collected 1.4 million signatures in support of the referendum.
- Cord principals Raila Odinga (ODM), Mr Moses Wetangula (Ford Kenya) and Mr Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper Democratic Movement) and Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua said they are on a mission to help ‘save Kenyan’ from mismanagement and bad governance.
- Mr Odinga said the they resorted to the initiative after the government ignored their calls for dialogue and cautionary messages.
- Ms Karua said the initiative signifies the power of the people to force change.
Okoa Kenya experts handed over signatures they collected in support of a referendum to Opposition chiefs Wednesday giving the process a new momentum.
The technocrats who have been compiling signatures collected during the Okoa Kenya initiative handed the process to Cord and Narc-Kenya leaderships setting stage for presentation of the referendum draft Bill to the electoral commission next week.
They had collected 1.4 million signatures in support of the referendum.
Cord principals Raila Odinga (ODM), Mr Moses Wetangula (Ford Kenya) and Mr Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper Democratic Movement) and Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua said they are on a mission to help ‘save Kenyan’ from mismanagement and bad governance.
FAILING ECONOMY
This comes on the backdrop of a series of hard-hitting attacks by the Opposition on the government over failing economy.
Mr Odinga has recently taken on President Uhuru Kenyatta accusing him of sleeping on the job and turning a blind eye to corruption.
And on Wednesday, Mr Odinga said the opposition will offer solutions to most of the problems bedevilling the country through the proposed reforms.
“Okoa Kenya is not Cord. This is an instrument to save the country from going down the drain,” said Mr Odinga, the ODM party leader.
The opposition chiefs will on next Wednesday lead their supporters to Kenyatta International Convention Centre where the referendum draft Bill and the signatures will be handed over to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
The material will be transported to Kenyatta International Convention Centre in lorries according to Siaya Senator James Orengo.
The electoral body will then be expected to verify the signatures to certify that the initiative is supported by at least one million voters, a process that will take at least two to three months.
DRAFT BILL
Should the commission be satisfied that the initiative meets the constitutional requirements, it will then submit the draft Bill to the 47 county assemblies for consideration. This should be within three months from the date of submission.
Okoa Kenya Committee of Experts chairman Paul Mwangi who spoke at their Lavington offices in Nairobi yesterday said they are positive that the process will take off after they collected more than enough signatures
“The game starts the moment the signatures are presented to the IEBC,” Mr Mwangi stated. Over 20 Cord MPs attended the hand over ceremony.
Mr Odinga said the they resorted to the initiative after the government ignored their calls for dialogue and cautionary messages.
“We alerted them to some sections of the Constitution that needed reworking but they refused and saw us as hungry people and that’s how we closed our doors,” he said.
“When they refused, we took up what we could,” said Mr Odinga.
Mr Wetangula termed it a critical stage.
“We are now on a journey that is not for Cord but for the people of Kenya. We are giving Kenyans a better deal,” stated Mr Wetang’ula.
Ms Karua said the initiative signifies the power of the people to force change.
“Now the formal journey begins,” she said.
