NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 28 – Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi Friday ruled out the possibility of conducting a constitution amendment referendum ahead of 2022 General Elections after the Court of Appeal upheld the nullification of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
Mudavadi said with the court having found the process to have fallen short of the popular initiative threshold under Article 257 of the Constitution, it may not be feasible to salvage the process given the strict constitutional timelines ahead of next year’s presidential election.
“Parliament has a mandate to amend the constitution but the component that would require a referendum may not be feasible in the context of the time left and the Constitution deadline may not allow a referendum,” he said during an interview at a local TV station.
As part of his economic agenda, Mudavadi who is seeking to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, said he will also launch a Pesa Mfukoni economic strategy that will empower Kenyans financially and enable them to meet their obligations.
“When we say pesa mfukoni, we are sending a message that the cost of living has become unbearable, With Pesa Mfukoni, we are talking of an economy that will allow Kenyans to have more money in their pockets that will enable them to meet their obligations without pressure and stress that they go through,” he said
The ANC leader also said the One Kenya Alliance, a movement he is part of will soon announce critical milestones even as it seeks to forge alliances with other leaders.
“The process has started and has not closed,reaching out to other leaders is ongoing, everything does not happen in the public eye, we will only pronounce the critical milestones,” he said.
Mudavadi had attributed the collapse of the BBI to the failure of its leadership to tolerate divergent views.
He blamed the BBI proponents led by Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta for refusing to listen to other people’s views and politicizing the push to review the constitution.
“When leaders refuse to listen to each other and make themselves a one-man choir, the consequences are grave. We have spent resources over the last three years, talking about this thing, refusing to listen to each other and making it a one-man thing, and now the court has stopped it,” he said.
