President Uhuru Kenyatta has evaded a question on his alleged plan to become the prime minister after his second 5-year term ends, in an interview on Thursday with a top American Think-Tank, deepening speculation over his BBI-driven political reforms strategy.
The interview, broadcast online, was conducted by a panel of officials from the Atlantic Council, an influential and prominent U.S Think-Tank whose leadership includes some of the former senior government officials.
Uhuru said the debate on the position of a prime minister has not been a “principal issue” under the BBI and therefore he cannot comment on it.
“I have no clue whether there is going to be a premiership in the constitution. These are the questions that people are now posing,” the president said.
“I have given you a synopsis of issues that people are interested in; the value of their vote, distribution of resources and inclusivity in the government. And I have not heard of any of these other issues and that is why I can’t comment on what as far as I am concerned, has not been a principal issue of the whole Building Bridges Initiative,” said Uhuru.
The president said he will not, however, seek to extend his presidency in respect to the spirit on the introduction of multipartyism in 1992, where the two-term limit was central to deadly political reforms then.
“If there is one thing that Kenyans are very clear about, is the two five year term limit and they have been very clear about since 1992 when we introduced multipartyism. And there has been no single president that has broken that. And I do not intend to be the first.”
Uhuru’s response that the premiership position has not been a principal issue of the BBI debate however contradicts a key recommendation of the report on the Executive, which it notes should include the President, a Deputy President, a Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers.
According to public debate and various sentiments by leaders, failure to expand the Executive is at the core of the perception of lack of inclusivity, with squeezed top leadership positions being dominated by two communities in the country’s heavily laden ethnic politics.
Indeed, the BBI report dedicates a whole section to a recommendation for a prime minister position, raising questions why the president sees it as a non-principal issue in the proposed reforms.
“The role of a Prime Minister will be crucial in strengthening inclusivity and accountability. It will ensure that the work of Government is better overseen by Parliament, while also ensuring greater inclusivity from political parties with strength in the National Assembly,” the report notes
It recommends that “within a set number of days following the summoning of Parliament after an election, the President shall appoint as Prime Minister, an elected Member of the National Assembly from a political party having a majority of Members in the National Assembly or, if no political party has a majority, one who appears to have the support of a majority of MPs.”
On December 30 2019, David Murathe, a close friend of the president and one of the current power brokers claimed that Uhuru will be a prime minister after the next elections.
Several political commentators have speculated the same but the president’s handshake partner Raila Odinga has denied that this is the intended political game plan.
Reach us on editor@financialday.co.ke
What a wonderful thing you are doing…keepup
About the happy,l guess it the high time our county should be tenderum
with, new infrastructure coming up.so to open tourism in the greater Nyandarua .