Promoters of the Building Bridges Initiative bill are considering an alternative plan to amend the 2010 constitution should the Court of Appeal fail to rule in their favour.
According to Ndaragwa Member of Parliament Jeremiah Kioni, there is a plan to identify legislative changes that can sail through without a referendum so that a new bill is introduced in both National Assembly and Senate.
“We can bring back the Bill to Parliament for a parliamentary initiative should we get the blessings of the promoters. Nothing stops Parliament from processing the Bill,” Kioni said on Monday, May 17.
Kioni who chairs the parliamentary Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee said that nothing stops the National Assembly from bringing back the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2020 through a parliamentary initiative.
His sentiments were echoed by BBI secretariat co-chair Denis Waweru who said they were considering a parliamentary route even as they move to court to challenge the High Court judgement.
“That is one of the options we will explore. When push comes to shove, we shall consider that option,” the former Dagoreti South MP said.
On May 13, judges Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Jairus Ngaah, Teresia Matheka and Chacha Mwita declared the BBI process unconstitutional, null and void.
Earlier on, ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi had called for a parliamentary process to salvage the contents of the BBI bill.
The 2013 presidential candidate argued that the process of making an appeal in court could take a long time hence delay the Constitution amendment.
“When an appeal is made, it has its own life. We don’t know when they will finish, or whether anybody else will want to push it to the supreme court and all that will be eating into the constitutional timelines,” Mudavadi said.
Already Attorney General has filed notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal challenging the 5-bench judgment that slammed the breaks on BBI bill.
