Residents express varied reactions on extension of Presidential term limit

Nyeri,

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

KNA Samuel Maina/By Leah Omeri

Residents of Nyeri have elicited mixed sentiments towards the ongoing heated debate on a proposed plan to extend the Presidential term limit.

This is after Nandi Senator Samson Cheragei said he would present a memorandum to the National Dialogue Committee seeking to introduce a bill seeking to extend the President term limit from the current five years to seven years.

Cherargei has defended his proposal to amend the Constitution and extend the presidential term limit stating that the current term limit of five years is not sufficient for an elected President to deliver on his or her mandate and promises to Kenyans.

According to the lawmaker, the first year for the Presidency can never be accounted due to post-election outcomes such as election petitions and making appointments of individuals who will be part of the government.

Cheragei claims the final year also ends up being consumed by re-election campaigns, thus leaving the President with only three years to fully deliver on his pledges.

"Normally in Kenya one year after assuming office you go through the Supreme Court litigations then issues of settling down like Cabinet appointments and realigning your government. Then the fifth year the country goes back to campaign mode. Even statistics have shown the economy did badly that year. So, you only have three years to work for the people," said Cheragei when he appeared on Citizen TV's Monday Report show yesterday.

"I think if you give 7 years as the term limit for the President, minus the two (one in settling and one during the campaigning period) you will get 5 years which all Kenyans are arguing about."he added.

But Kinuthia Maina a resident of Nyeri has opposed the proposal terming it an ‘outright absurdity’.

 Maina has faulted Cheragei for coming up with a proposal to extend term limits at a time the majority of Kenyans are hardly making it by.

He said it was almost disrespectful for the lawmaker to be engaging the nation on such a topic instead of fighting for policies that will ensure Kenyans can put food on their table.

“This proposal is a bad thing for discussion and may be construed as an attempt by some leaders to attain their political ends. As ordinary Kenyans we are really suffering and the sole reason why we elected this government into office was out of the belief that it identified with our situation. Unfortunately, we are still struggling and life has become even harder due to the high cost of living, something we thought was going to be a thing of the past,” he laments.

Kinuthia argues that leaders need to put the needs of Kenyans first before pushing for agendas that add no value to the interests of the common person.

He has supported the call for equity on distribution of national resources as was proposed in the now defunct Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) that was pushing for the ‘one man one shilling’.

 He further says it should only be fair if a president serves for five years.

“What we need most in this constitution is pushing towards the one man, one shilling, one vote where everybody gets a fair share of the country’s resources. This proposal of extending the presidential term is all talk because we have a constitution in place that expounds on the issue. So why does he (Cheragei) want the presidential term to be extended?” he questions. 

But Margaret Githinji,a business operator, sees no problem in extending the presidential term limit as long as the challenges affecting Kenyans are taken care of .

Courtesy; KNA