President Uhuru Kenyatta.
President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Image: FILE

By Correspondent

The National Assembly leadership is split over a motion to jump-start far-reaching amendments to the Constitution among them to remove President Uhuru Kenyatta’s veto powers, according to Saturday Star Newspaper.

The Star has established that the House Business Committee made an attempt to defeat the motion by the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC).

The coast is yet to clear on the allegations but sources in the committee intimated that the motion was later given a stamp of approval by House Speaker Justin Muturi.

Reports show that there were concerns the committee sought to conduct public hearings on the Constitution despite the fact it is only days before the Building Bridges Initiative task force publishes its report.

The committee chaired by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni wants Parliament approval for it to go around the country collecting views to the effect of amending the Constitution.

The lawmakers want powers to propose amendments to the supreme law in line with the views arising from the public hearings.

Part of the radical proposal seen by the Star is to retire the positions of Woman Representatives, nominated women Senators, and nominated MCAs in 10 years after 2022.

Currently, political parties nominate to the Senate 16 women members according to their proportion of their respective seats.

The motion – which affects several articles, further speaks of amending the Constitution to provide for the President to nominate Cabinet Secretaries from among MPs.

The committee seeks to amend the supreme law for the President to assign the Attorney General duties of a Cabinet Secretary.

Kioni’s team also seeks to have the law changed to enhance the separation of powers between the legislature and the judiciary.

A bill is also already underway to the effect of elbowing the courts from active proceedings of the August House, including its committees.

The CIOC further wants the law changed to provide for governors to appoint chief executive committee members from among Members of County Assemblies (MCAs).

Kioni’s committee also wants to merge constitutional commissions and reduce numbers of members serving in the said agencies. The details of the merger remain scant.

The lawmakers also want to effect changes to the effect of defining the proper procedure of conducting a national referendum.

MPs also want the First Schedule changed to delist Nairobi as a county and designate it as Metropolis City of Nairobi.

Kioni’s team further wants to be allowed to chart ways of actualizing the findings of the Auditor General report following a socio-economic audit of the Constitution.

The motion states that the changes form part of what various stakeholders whom have appeared before it have cited as impediments to implementing the supreme law.