President Uhuru says he is not interested in clinging to power after 2022

President Uhuru Kenyatta has promised to respect his constitutional 2-term presidential limit when it expires in 2022.

Speaking during a live discussion with a US-based Think Tank- Atlantic Council- the President downplayed claims that the looming referendum would see him seek another term in office.

“Constitutions are not set in stone, it is unfortunate that some people want to misinterpret the referendum to mean that certain individuals want to extend their time in office, that will not happen,” President Uhuru explained.

At the same time, President Uhuru rubbished claims that would seek to be appointed Kenya’s next Prime Minister when his term as president expired.

“I have no clue if there is going to be a premiership in the Constitution, You see, these are the questions that people are now posing. I gave you a very clear synopsis of the areas where people are interested in. They are interested in the value of their vote, they are interested in the distribution of resources, and they are interested in inclusivity in government,” he explained.

During the 57th Madaraka Day celebrations, President Uhuru hinted that a referendum was in the works to right “what we got wrong in 2010”.

The referendum which is tied to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), the president noted, would seek to end Kenya’s cycle of post-election violence.

“The constitutional moment I discern is one that will bring an end to the senseless cycles of violence we have experienced in every election since 1992,” he noted.

Since the conception of the BBI, critics had accused President Uhuru and ODM leader of conspiring to create positions of power by pushing for a referendum.

Others claimed that the creation of a Prime Minister position would result into two centres of power.

While downplaying the claims, Raila Odinga noted that a Prime Minister would be subordinate to the president and responsible to the National Assembly.

He explained that the proposed position would be different from the one Kenya had during the Grand Coalition Government.

“The Grand Coalition was a special arrangement because power was shared between former President Kibaki and me, ” he explained.