The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, has called for the amendment of the East African nation’s constitution, especially with relations to election matters and governing, in a bid to end the “senseless cycles of violence” that has plagued the country and its people, as a result of a do or die elections mentality.
Speaking during a virtual celebration of Madaraka Day, a day set aside to commemorate the country’s independence from British colonialists on June 1, 1963, President Kenyatta stressed the need for changes in the elections process, as well as governance structures to further tackle Kenya’s winner-take-all political system.
Noting the effects of the controversial 2007 general elections in Kenya that led to the death of more than 1.100 people, and how it motivated the 2010 constitution which the country currently uses, Kenyatta reassured Kenyans that amending the constitution wasn’t born out of a need to change it, but rather on the urgent need to improve on it.
“Ten years later, I am already discerning a constitutional moment. Not a moment to replace the 2010 constitution but one to improve on it. A moment that will right what we got wrong in 2010. But fundamentally, the constitutional moment I discern is one that will bring an end to the senseless cycles of violence we have experienced in every election since 1992. And one that will deepen our democratic credentials and lead to a much more inclusive society, which, I believe, was the intention of the framers of the 2010 constitution,” he said.
Furthermore, Kenyatta noted that it would be impossible to effect long-lasting change in the country and its political structure without revisiting the constitution. While details on the proposed amendments are unknown at the moment, Kenyatta may call for a referendum soon, with the National Assembly due to consider a proposed law on referendums this month.
The people of Kenya are set to hit the polls in 2022 for the next batch of general elections that might see Kenyatta’s replacement elected, as his two terms of five years expires.
