A section of Jubilee legislators are said to be preparing a bill that seeks to protect the Deputy President from any prosecution.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill sponsored by Igembe South Member of Parliament Mithika Linturi, has proposed that the DP be protected against any suit while in office, a privilege only enjoyed by the President.
A second part of the proposed law also seeks to shield both the President and his Deputy against any cases that emanate from international treaties such as the International Criminal Court (ICC).
According to Linturi, the two leaders are elected as an item and are given sovereign powers by the citizens, therefore any privilege set aside for the Head of State should also be extended to his deputy.
“We are not in any way trying to promote impunity. We are just trying to make sure that the gap is cured,” he clarified.
However, the proposal has been criticized by the Law society of Kenya (LSK), asserting that the DP is not democratically elected.
“The amendment seeks to confer full immunity upon the occupant of an office undemocratically elected by the people of Kenya, so is not a recipient of sovereign powers donated by the people,” stated LSK Chair Isaac Okero.
Regarding immunity against international cases, LSK said: “amendments directly contradict and undermine the commitment of the people of Kenya to international treaties and laws”.
This comes even as the country is reportedly planning to pull out of the Rome Statute which created ICC, with President Uhuru Kenyatta hinting at a possibility of severing ties with the Hague-based court.
