Nasa to use ‘people’ to push for reforms

Mr David Ndii, the National Super Alliance’s head of strategy. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Opposition will use the People’s Assembly, whose creation was announced on Tuesday, to push through multiple amendments to the Constitution as it is of the view that the elections were a subversion of the supreme law.

David Ndii, the National Super Alliance’s head of strategy, likened the assembly to the Ufungamano Initiative, the organisation of civil society and religious groups that worked parallel with the legally mandated Constitution of Kenya Review Commission.

PARALLEL

Ufungamano would in the year 2000 get into the formal arrangement on the review of the supreme law when CKRC chairman Prof Yash Pal Ghai refused to be sworn in until its members were incorporated into CKRC.

“It was outside of the law. It was a people’s forum. So, that’s what we said. We are going to convene another people’s forum because the Constitution has been subverted,” Dr Ndii told the Nation Wednesday.
Other sources inside the coalition said that the ultimate aim of the assembly would be to create a parallel government and Bills are being drafted for approval by county assemblies where Nasa holds sway.

Nasa co-principal Musalia Mudavadi was cagey, only saying they are aware the public expected a lot from them when they made the announcement on Tuesday.

CHANGES

“The most important thing is to broaden public participation so that the people can own the changes we want to propose, which will be the subject of the referendum question we will be pushing. All these processes require a lot of time. The people must be patient because the ideas we have will serve them well,” he said.

Mr Mudavadi said they had chosen the county route because county assemblies are more receptive to change than Parliament. “National Assembly is definitely not the best avenue because of the issue of interference from the Executive,” he said.

Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi said establishing the assembly does not require any legal regime because the world over, the People’s Assembly steps in to exercise sovereign power directly in cases where democracy and government institutions have failed.

“All we need is to use the sovereign power as the people of Kenya to convert ourselves into a People’s Assembly.