Martha Karua Reads Mischief in Failure to Provide Kenyans with Copies of BBI Bill

Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua has questioned the delay in printing copies of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Constitutional Amendment Bill.

Karua said failure to avail copies of the document to Kenyans could be part of a scheme by BBI proponents to sneak in mischievous clauses ahead of the referendum.

“The independence constitution was mutilated multiple times by the ruling elite until it became unrecognizable, the 2010 constitution is similarly under threat of being cannibalized through unconstitutional means,” Karua said through Twitter.

“One of the reasons copies of the proposed constitutional amendments bill are not being availed we suspect is to facilitate sneaking in of mischievous clauses as the referendum approaches.”

The Senior Counsel further indicated that the country is experiencing many challenges such as hunger and broken health and education systems, stating that BBI cannot be a priority.

“Millions of Kenyans are hungry and at risk of starvation if adequate measures are not taken urgently. This is one priority where we must direct all available resources not to mention our broken health and education systems,” Karua said.

She noted that it is unconstitutional for promoters of BBI to expect Kenyans to pass the Bill without reading it.

“Expecting people to endorse what they have not seen is not only a violation of the constitution but also usurpation of people’s voice and power to make informed choices.”

Kenya will head to referendum by June this year after more than 24 county assemblies endorsed the BBI Bill, surpassing the constitutional threshold. So far, 42 assemblies have passed the Bill while two—Baringo and Nandi—rejected it.