ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi has called for a less disruptive solution compared to the dissolution of Parliament, following Chief Justice David Maraga’s advisory to President Uhuru Kenyatta. Mudavadi has faulted Maraga’s move, terming it drastic and extreme, “Justified as he may be legally, the CJ’s drastic action was extreme and portends disaster for a country ravaged by and struggling to contain the Coronavirus, whose economy is in tatters and without viable institutions to manage the aftermath of his action”
Maraga’s advisory to President Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament was owing to its failure to enact the two thirds gender rule, Mudavadi being the latest leader to castigate the decision. The ANC leader, who was speaking to the press on Tuesday, said if Parliament is dissolved, it will impact negatively on an already shaky economy and its targeted revival and affect the stability of Kenya’s security sector, “Our economy cannot support disruption beyond what we are going through. We must avert a situation where we are continuing to infuse a state of uncertainty into the country,” he stated.
He pointed out that dissolution is not an end in itself and without mitigation, Kenya will be in free fall, “Further, dissolution will mean there is no institution to authorize spending in an election or put in place a body to supervise an election.” He added that if Parliament is dissolved, there is no guarantee that the next one will not be liable to the same mistake, and fail in enacting the gender rule.
He has urged the Supreme Court to revisit Article 159 that sets the rules for interpreting the Constitution to abide by the principle it shall be interpreted in a manner that promotes its purposes, values, principles and contributes to good governance. He said the spirit of the law should’ve been applied rather than the letter, to avoid social disruption. With no timeline for the dissolution, he has further urged President Kenyatta to consult widely on the matter, saying he should seek broader consultation to find a workable solution.
