The Kenya Kwanza coalition has distanced itself from utterances by Fafi MP Salah Yakub that they will seek to change the Constitution and remove the presidential term limit.
Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro termed the utterances as personal and not representing the party.
“The member of Fafi is merely an attention seeker, he has a myriad of problems he is supposed to be dealing with, issues of hunger among others, that is not the position of the party, and I speak with authority, there is no such thinking that we need to change the constitution to remove the term limit,” he said
Osoro said if the proposal ever came to the floor of the House, they will throw it out as a majority party.
He threatened the party could take disciplinary action against the MP for claiming to speak on its behalf without being given that permission.
“We respect that we are a democracy, but if it’s evident that he has misrepresented the party, and has brought the name of the party in disrepute, then we won’t hesitate to take action against him, because what he is saying is utter imaginary thinking, its fantasy thinking,” he said.
Salah’s statement has elicited sharp reactions with opposition MPs accusing the president of testing the waters as he gears up to change the Constitution and remove the term.
Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi says they have always suspected such a move could be pulled by the Government in power although it has come too early in the day.
“We want to caution very strongly that any attempt to create a life presidency in the country shall be resisted vigorously by the people of Kenya”,” he said.
Minority Whip Junet Mohammed said it was too early to start that debate, considering the suffering Kenyans are going through currently.
“Kenyans are hungry, the cost of living is high, and there is drought, we know ourselves as politicians that is what we do, you send a squirrel to test waters and see if there is maize in the granary that was what the young man was doing,” Mohamed said.
The Fafi MP, who is allied to the UDA Party, claimed that together with other lawmakers, they were working on a Constitutional amendment bill seeking to cap the presidential age limit at 75 years, replacing the current two-term limit that went into effect ahead of the 1992 General Election.
According to Article 142 of the Constitution, the President shall hold office for a term beginning on the date of the inauguration and ending when the person next elected President is sworn in.
The 2010 constitution states that no person may serve as president for more than two five-year terms.
