Kenyans’ attention was drawn to a dramatic turn of events at Kenyatta International Convention Centre where President William Ruto assented to the 2024 Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) (Amendment) Bill.
The event kicked off smoothly with an opening prayer, before the Clerk of the National Assembly Samuel Njoroge handed the vellum copies of the bill to President Ruto to append his signature and put a seal on them.
“These vellum copies have the consent of the speaker of the houses of parliament to present these vellum copies before you for your assent. This bill, your Excellency, is the first bill to anchor the resolutions of the houses of parliament with respect to the NADCO report,” Njoroge explained as Ruto signed the copies of the bill.
After signing and putting a seal on the copies, President Ruto distributed the bill to various high-ranking leaders including, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Attorney General Justin Muturi and Azimio co-principals Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka
First to steal the show was Kalonzo who started his remarks by faulting the government for deploying heavily armed police on major streets around KICC making it almost inaccessible.
“I didn’t find it easy to come here this morning for various reasons, one of which was the barricading of the route to KICC, but I must thank the organizers for having brought it to KICC, because if it was a State house, Mr. President, it would even have been a little harder to get in there,” the Wiper Party leader said.
Kalonzo said that the closure of roads by police indicated that the country is at a crossroads, subtly attributing the ordeal to the recent anti-government protests by Gen Z which were similar to Azimio’s street demonstrations of last year.
He faulted the Kenya Kwanza team at Bomas of Kenya during the National Dialogue Committee sittings for quashing costing of living agenda that was being fronted by Azimio only for the government to be confronted by Gen Z with issues touching on the same agenda a year later.
“As Azimio La Umoja One Kenya, our number one topic was the high cost of living but Ichung’wah and the team from Kenya Kwanza convinced us that it was a government responsibility, and the opposition had nothing to do with discussing the high cost of living. I hope that in the light of recent developments, my friend Ichung’wah would have revised that thought,” Kalonzo who co-chaired the Nadco sittings with the Kikuyu MP said.
He hailed Gen Z saying they had outdone the opposition in conducting protests adding that President Ruto has no choice but to listen to their outcry. “Mr. President, I want to urge that we look at our country afresh. There’s no way we can wish away the Gen C revolution. They have a right to belong. In fact, they are carrying the national flag. They have done it better than we did when some of us nearly got killed,” he stated.
The former Vice President urged Parliament to fast-track the remaining eight bills emanating from the Nadco report after it delivered the IEBC amendment bill which was the first product of the Bomas national dialogue.
“I wish we had moved with speed. It has taken an inordinate delay to get to where we are today, to get the first product out of NADCO. It is expected of us to even fast-track the other eight (Nadco report bills). They have to be juxtaposed with the reality of the country and this new revolt. If we are not careful, all of us will get thrown out by the Gen Cs, because they say, we have come of age,” Kalonzo warned.
