Deputy President William Ruto on Monday, September 14, responded to reports on President Uhuru Kenyatta extending his term beyond 2022.
Ruto was speaking from his residence in Karen, Nairobi where he hosted former Amani National Congress (ANC) official Eluid Owalo among other leaders.
The Jubilee Party Deputy Leader stated that the President had no plans of extending his term in office beyond 2022, using a popular phrase by Tanzanian MP Seleman Bungara.
"Some other people are telling us that it (BBI) is about the extension of terms, the question you ask, my boss President Uhuru Kenyatta is a democrat, I do not think he has told anybody that he wants his term extended.
"So where are these people finding all this, I would dare ask, Uliskia Wapi that the President wants his term extended," stated Ruto.
This came after Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli was reported to have claimed that Uhuru would be free to extend his term after the referendum.
The trade unionist, however, vehemently denied the reports stating that his comments were misconstrued as he added that he only expressed his support for Constitutional changes through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
According to the kenyan Constitution, a president is only allowed to serve for a maximum of two five-year terms with Uhuru currently on his last.
Ruto also hit out at the BBI backers noting that it needed to be inclusive rather than being used as a tool to divide Kenyans.
"The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) needs to be progressive, advancing our common purposes and expanding opportunity for all. It should appreciate our diversity and help build a stronger economy to move Kenyans out of poverty and unemployment.
"It should be a unifying and people-centred document rather than a political tool that is in defiance of the spirit of inclusivity, abused by some leaders to breed division, hate and ethnic animosity," added Ruto.
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