ODM leader Raila Odinga praised the Supreme Court’s decision on the Building Bridges Initiative
ODM leader Raila Odinga praised the Supreme Court’s decision on the Building Bridges Initiative, saying it upholds the sovereignty of the Kenyan people.
Raila said in a statement Thursday that the ruling states that government bodies must submit to the decision of the people and never usurp their sovereignty.
“I want to applaud the verdict, particularly in the context of the questions surrounding the amendments to the constitution,” Raila said.
We will not stop deliberations on the way forward that will decide on a future course of action that protects the interests of all those who voted to see the amendments come to light.
For now, we have an election to WIN! pic.twitter.com/U22eGatV0M
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) March 31, 2022
The former prime minister also noted that the Supreme Court upheld all the terms of the initiative, except for the section in which the state was reprimanded for engaging in a citizen-centric process.
“I note that the BBI process has been maintained. What has been criticized is the role that the State is said to have played in the beginning of the popular initiative.
“I am particularly pleased with the insight that the Chief Justice has shown about the role of the Judiciary in the constitutional order and its relationship with other branches of government,” added Raila. The Supreme Court, in a majority ruling on Thursday, affirmed that the process to amend the constitution through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was illegal.
The ruling was delivered by a seven-judge bench made up of Chief Justice Martha Koome, MP CJ Philomena Mwilu, Justices William Ouko, Isaac Lenaola, Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, and Njoki Ndung’u.
courtsey a khawatungu.com
The judges determined that the alleged popular initiative was initiated by President Uhuru Kenyatta and not by the common Mwananchi ‘wanjiku’. The court held that a popular initiative is a preserve of the people and not of their representatives. Justices Lenaola and Ndung’u disagreed.
BBI is a product of March 9, 2018, political truce between President Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, popularly known as the handshake.
BBI sought, among others, to expand the Executive and introduce the office of the Prime Minister and two MPs as part of what the handshake duo called efforts to resolve the historic injustices plaguing the country.
In Thursday’s ruling, the Supreme Court also ruled on five other issues before the court.
