There was a standoff at the National assembly on Thursday, April 29 when Members of Parliament were having a debate on the BBI bill.
An exchange of words was witnessed between ODM legislators, John Mbadi and Otiende Amollo.
The two, who are close allies of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga disagreed over a proposed amendment on the constitution highlighted on the BBI bill.
ODM chairman John Mbadi argued that an amendment of the constitution can not be unconstitutional as in Otiende Amollo’s argument as it was coming from a popular initiative.
“How can a proposed amendment to the Constitution be unconstitutional?” Mbadi possed during the debate.
On his side, Otiende Amollo argued that an amendment can indeed be unconstitutional.
“As a matter of law, a constitutional amendment can be unconstitutional if it does not follow the process in the constitution before it is amended. If we decide – in an amendment – that the President of this country will rotate in only one community, it is unconstitutional,” Otiende argued.
The Rarieda Member of Parliament went ahead to question Mbadi’s knowledge in law, challenging his knowledge of the law.
“John Mbadi you have not stepped in law school,” he told the ODM Chairman, who is an accountant by proffession.
During the session, there was also a confrontation between Mbadi and nominated MP David Sankok. As he was seeking a clarification from the speaker, Mbadi was involved in heckling him.
An agitated Sankok asked John Mbadi to ‘shut up’ and what followed next was loose utterances in Maasai dialect.
The two ODM legislators have been in logger heads concerning the legality of the BBI bill.
Some members led by Otiende Amollo and James Orengo wanted the bill to be edited in order to do away with the illegalities in it.
On the other hand, a team led by John Mbadi proposed for the bill to be passed as it is.
After the push and pull, Mbadi informed ODM members that the party had arrived at a decision to pass the bill uniformly, warning of consequences to those who shoot it down.
