Atwoli dismisses Kibwanas move to Supreme Court over BBI as delaying tactic

Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has slammed Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana terming his move to go to court over the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) bill as a delaying tactic aimed at derailing the constitutional amendment process.

Speaking in Kisumu on Wednesday, Atwoli reiterated the need to expedite the ongoing process to restructure the constitution for what he termed the greater good.

“These are people who live in their own world, even if you bring them down here you’re wasting your time,” said the COTU boss.

“In any document in a constitution which has 30 clauses when you’re negotiating, you look at how many clauses you have achieved…if you negotiate well 7 clauses out of 30, the remaining 23 you will wait after two years to revisit…but take those 7 first to your people.”

ROAD TO A REFERENDUM
Atwoli rubbishes Kibwana’s move to Supreme Court
Makueni Governor wants Supreme Court advisory on BBI
BBI secretariat conclude signature collection#DayBreak pic.twitter.com/Y1hoVKvLJ0

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) December 2, 2020

Governor Kibwana on Monday moved to the Supreme Court seeking advisory opinion on issues regarding the proposed constitutional amendments through the BBI.

The Governor, in a statement later issued to the press, said he sought to understand whether a bill containing a proposed amendment should only be limited to an amendment of a single issue of the constitution.

At the same time, he sought to understand whether national or county governments or state officers- acting in official capacity- are allowed by law to use public resources to finance or seek constitutional amendments.

According to Governor Kivutha, the constitution expects that amendments be limited to only one issue to ensure the authority to effect amendments is not abused and does not degenerate into a total overhaul.

At the same time, the Governor said clarity on the matter will enable members of the public to understand which issues are being amended so that they can freely exercise their will on whether to support or oppose the amendments.

Governor Kivutha argued that the clarification will enable county governments to effectively undertake civic education before the referendum.