MPs clash over format of the Referendum Bill

Deputy President William Ruto addresses grassroot leaders from Narok County in his Karen Residence on February 16, 2021. [DPPS]

A proposed law seeking to provide guidelines for the planned June referendum has provided a fresh battle ground for rival camps in the National Assembly.

MPs allied to President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga clashed with their colleagues in Deputy President William Ruto’s camp over the Referendum Bill, with one side pushing for a ‘yes or no’ referendum and the other calling for a multi-question referendum. Yesterday, Ruto’s allies kept up pressure to amend the National Assembly Bill No.14 of 2020 to allow for a multiple-question referendum. The House Business Committee has prioritised a Bill by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee over one by the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) that proposed a multiple-question plebiscite.