Religious leaders call out lawmakers for attempting to extend presidential term limits Religious leaders from Nyeri and Nyandarua counties have expressed their disappointment at the proposal by lawmakers to amend presidential term limits.
In a joint statement read the Nyeri vice chairman of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), Venerable Joseph Njakei, the clerics who included Muslim leaders say that the proposal is ill timed given that the country was grappling more pressing issues that need urgent attention from the current regime which has been in office for less than three months.
“We note with a lot of concern that there is a motion to extend the presidential term limits even before Kenyans see the fulfillment of any promises made by this government,” said Ven Njakei.
“As religious leaders we think it is too early to discuss such matters when Kenyans are dying of hunger and grappling with unbearable economic situations. We should not even waste time in thinking about such things. It is time to think about that dying Kenyan, those other matters can wait for 10 years should the president seek to be in office for two terms,” he added.
Their remarks come a day after Fafi Member of Parliament, Salah Yakub, revealed plans by a section United Democratic Alliance legislators to amend the constitution to remove the presidential two-term limit and replace it with an age limit of 75 years.
According to Article 142 of the 2010 Constitution, the presidential term is currently capped at two-five year terms but should the amendment sail through, a president below the age of 75 will be legible to seek re-election into office for as many as four terms.
“Kenyans need something better; they want to hear how they can come out of the struggle they are going through right now but not motions in parliament that do not actually help the common mwananchi,” said Njakei who was speaking at the Caritas Centre in the outskirts of Nyeri town.
The clerics who vowed to keep the executive in check and ensure that they fulfill their manifesto and election pledges, also weighed in on the climate change discussion and called on the Ministry of Agriculture and County Departments of Agriculture to support climate smart agriculture projects. According to the clerics, the presence of youth in climate change mitigation measures was still wanting and they challenged the two tiers of governments to involve the youth in government projects.
“The Ministry of Agriculture should harness the power of the youth in creating awareness and advocacy to protect natural resources and involve them in implementing climate change mitigation measures especially in affected areas. The Ministry of Education should also prioritize environmental education in the school curriculum,” he said.
On the issue of Genetically Modified Organisms, the religious leaders said that the general public had not been provided with sufficient information about GMOs. They said that the only way to clear the air on the issue was educating Kenyans on the dangers and the benefits of GMOs before lifting the ban without due consideration.