President Kenyatta to make State of the Nation Address under tight COVID-19 protocols

President Uhuru Kenyatta is today expected to make a State of the Nation address to Parliament and the country at large under tight COVID-19 protocols.

The address was supposed to happen in the first quarter of the year but was scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only 114 out of the total 416 lawmakers from both the Senate and the National Assembly will be allowed in the chamber for the address. The rest will follow the proceedings from the senate chamber and other designated areas.

There will be minimal interactions between MPs and the president with the speakers cancelling the after party usually hosted at parliament’s gardens.

Proposed constitutional amendments in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report are expected to top the agenda, disgruntled voices continue to raise their concerns.

Bishops drawn from the evangelical churches, want President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga to have the report re-examined to accommodate the church.

The church is pushing for the contentious issues in the 2010 constitution to be addressed including clauses in abortion.

Elsewhere, The Service Party of Kenya party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri has also joined the bandwagon pushing for the re-opening of the BBI document to allow for more amendments before the constitutional amendments.

Other groups that have expressed reservations include sections of pastoralist communities, marginalised groups and the church.