Azimio la Umoja, on Thursday, May 11, warned that the bipartisan talks and their resolutions may be challenged in court and declared null and void like the defunct Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
Addressing the media after a closed-door meeting, Azimio indicated that it was contemplating rejecting any Presidential Gazettement or Executive Order process owing to the fact that it would require a constitutional amendment.
Giving context to their argument, Rarieda Member of Parliament Otiende Amollo stated that President William Ruto presented some issues raised in the bipartisan talks through the Kenya Kwanza team, and it may be perceived that he initiated the dialogue.
Amollo, the member of parliament for Rarieda, referred to the Supreme Court ruling on the BBI case, which established that the President cannot initiate a constitutional review process.
"You will recognise that in the respective issues submitted by both parties, there is a contemplation of issues touching on the Constitution, which may also require a constitutional amendment. You will remember that the Supreme Court held in the BBI case that no amendment can be initiated at the instance of the President," Amollo stated.
"For that reason we recognise that to the extent that the President has raised some of those issues in Parliament and also through this talks, then we will turn in danger of negating our work," he insisted.
The BBI process failed after the judges ruled that former President Uhuru Kenyatta was the promoter of the initiative and that the Constitution does not grant him the power to amend it through a popular initiative.
"The President as a matter of fact, commenced and spearheaded the process from its inception and only passed on the baton to the two co-chairpersons when it was too late in the day and beyond recall," Judge William Ouko stated as the Supreme Court upheld the High Court ruling which invalidated BBI.
Following the conundrum, Azimio and Kenya Kwanza sides decided to explore different alternatives before embarking on full talks to address grievances raised.
Azimio was rooting for an extra-parliamentary process, while Kenya Kwanza was fixed on the legislative framework endorsed by Ruto.
Resolutions aim to strike a truce between President Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and end anti-government protests organised by the opposition side.
Among the issues agreed by both sides are strengthening the political parties' framework, reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and lowering the cost of living.
