President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday, June 18, affirmed that he was not interested in extending his presidential term when it comes to an end in 2022.
Speaking to Katrina Manson during a virtual meeting with the Atlantic Council, Uhuru dismissed claims that he would remain in power as alleged by Jubilee Party vice-chairman David Murathe in an interview in December 2019.
The president stated that he would follow the constitution which stipulates that a president should rule for two terms.
“It is unfortunate that some people have interpreted the scenario of a referendum to change the Constitution, to mean that certain individuals want to change that Constitution to extend the presidential term.
“I can tell you, if there is one thing that Kenyans are very, very clear about, is the two-term limit. The two term-limit Kenyans are very clear about and they have been clear about since 1992 when we introduced multipartism and there’s been no single president that has broken that and I don’t intend to be the first," Uhuru declared.
Uhuru explained that Kenyans were interested in the value of their vote, distribution of resources and inclusivity in the government, adding that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) covered the said matters.
In an interview in December, Murathe anticipated that political alignments would arise once the BBI proposals were implemented.
The alignments, he stated, would see the majority party in the National Assembly form the government in a coalition with other parties.
“The only thing the President can’t do is to run for Presidency but, under the new political dispensation envisaged by the BBI team, we anticipate new political formations that will be all-encompassing and inclusive.
“Nothing stops the President, as the leader of Jubilee, to head the government as the Executive Prime Minister as long as the party remains the largest in Kenya," Murathe stated.
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