We Must Amend the 2010 Constitution Now, Uhuru Says

President Kenyatta has reiterated his call for a referendum to amend the 2010 constitution.

While acknowledging that the constitution is progressive, Uhuru emphasized that changes must be made on the document to realign it with emerging realities.

“We must treat a constitution as a living document that must constantly adjust to our emerging realities. Ten years later, the moment to improve on it is now and as I said in my Madaraka Day Speech, we must not succumb to the paralysis of constitutional rigidity,” Uhuru said while addressing the nation on Wednesday.

He described the 2010 constitution as a cease-fire document following a tense period in the country.

“Instead of a cease-fire document that enforces a zero-sum game in which the winner takes it all, the moment calls us to create a constitutional order that will long endure,” added Uhuru.

Uhuru alongside ODM leader Raila Odinga is pushing for a constitutional referendum through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), which resulted from the two leaders’ historic March 9th, 2018 handshake. 

“I want to emphasize that we must not go for the populist path.  Let us choose the bold path; that path that will assure Kenyans of sustained peace and security, and shared economic prosperity,” Uhuru further noted.

The BBI taskforce, a team selected to collect the views of Kenyans on various issues, is expected to present its final report to Uhuru and Odinga any time from now. 

The report will pave the way for a referendum, which Odinga has insisted must be conducted before the 2022 general election. The process had gained momentum early this year before it was suddenly halted by the Covid-19 pandemic.