Lobby group plans to paralyse Ruto-Raila talks
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Lobby group, Operation Linda Jamii plans to paralyse Ruto-Raila talks over concerns the team is destined to amend the constitution
Lobby group, Operation Linda Jamii plans to paralyse Ruto-Raila talks over concerns the team is destined to amend the constitution.
On Monday, Linda Jamii vowed to organize its participants and march to Kenya’s Bomas to disrupt the peace negotiations being held by representatives of the two main political organizations in the nation.
The group led by Prof Fred Ogola expressed its dissatisfaction with the direction the negotiations were going.
The claimed that the National Dialogue Committee was considering ways to amend the constitution.
The activist pointed out that the five major topics that the two teams would debate touch on the basic stracture of the constitution, which, in his opinion, can only be done by a non-state actor.
“They should allow Operation Linda Jamii initiative that had already begun the process to initiate constitutional change,” the statement from the lobby group read in part.
Ogola revealed that the group had already collected signatures to initiate constitutional change aimed at addressing most of the issues to be discussed by the dialogue committee.
“We remain steadfast in restating that the amendment of the constitution of Kenya through a popular initiative is a means of the exercise of direct democracy which can only be exercised by the people of Kenya and not their representatives so as not to convolute the form of democracy at play,” the group stated.
Ogola pointed out that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) leadership void has caused a delay in the advocacy group’s attempts to amend the constitution by preventing them from delivering the necessary signatures to launch the initiative.
He argued that in order to ensure that the constitutional amendment process is citizen-led rather than state-led, President William Ruto should get in touch with the lobby organization if his intentions to address the country’s problems are sincere.
Ogola further expressed his reservations about politicians leading calls to change the constitution, warning that billions of taxpayer money would be used in the exercise.
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The National Dialogue Team, consisting of leaders from Kenya Kwanza and Azimio, is focused on discussing electoral justice, incorporating development funds into the constitution, and establishing and solidifying the roles of state officers.
Additional topics on the agenda include; commitment to political parties, as well as unresolved constitutional matters such as the two-thirds gender rule.
However, Linda Jamii has questioned why Azimio prioritized the issue of the high cost of living for discussion but omitted police reforms from the list of topics.
“Kenyans who embraced the calls for mass action steered towards compelling the government to bring down the cost of living were subjected to and faced with unimaginable brutality. Today, police brutality that Azimio la Umoja cried foul about does not form part of the items agenda that is being discussed by the National Dialogue Committee,” the lobby stated.
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