Deputy President William Ruto has called for caution when dealing with independence of governance institutions in the BBI report. The Deputy President faced a hard time on Monday as also questioned how inclusive the BBI report is among other key proposals, with delegates and leaders present booing him.
Factoring the need to have an inclusive conversation on the BBI report, the DP said independence of the Judiciary and the IEBC should be factored, saying apart from the circumstances on the appointing of an Ombudsman to handle Judicial matter that arise, financing of the Judiciary should also be checked and that the Judiciary Fund should be operationalized. He said access to justice is still a challenge for Kenyans and the Judiciary should be enabled to set up more courts and hire more staff, “This is so that Kenyans can have access to justice.”
He also faulted the proposal to have political parties involved in appointment of IEBC commissioners, “How fair will a league be, where a referee is appointed by the contesting teams?” he posed. He further questioned the proposal to have a police council under the stewardship of a CS, insisting that the independence of the police force should be upheld and they should act independent of any influence.
On the matter of inclusivity, the DP wondered how inclusive the executive is that suggests a President has the power to appoint a Prime Minisery, two deputies from the majority party, “Where would that have left our brothers in NASA?” he posed, as those present shouted “respect the President..” Calling for calm, the Deputy President said his points and the BBI as a whole are all open to dialogue and conversation.