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Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi says plans are underway to amend the Assumption of Office Act in order to enforce the change of guard at State House after a General -Election.

Mudavadi revealed that a bill is being drafted and will be presented to Parliament after undergoing proper public participation and dialogue to reinforce the existing Assumption of Office Act. He said this will involve putting in place key components to govern transition of the Executive and delink it from a ceremonial event not firmly anchored in law.

“We want transition to go beyond the Assumption of Office, where a committee is set up just to prepare for a Swearing-in ceremony of the elected President. Transition must be beyond assumption of office,” Mudavadi, who spoke in Nakuru said.

“We want Kenyans to go further and make sure that transition is not just at the helm. What are also the components that need to be dealt with for smooth transition of executive authority?” he said.

Strange occurrences

Mudavadi said thie move would help cure strange occurrences, as witnessed in last year’s elections, where public officers were expected to take directions from some quarters.

“This will help us cure some of the things we saw at the Bomas of Kenya during last year’s General Election. We witnessed very strange occurrences where politicians and even public officers who were supposed to undertake their duties diligently but had to wait for instructions from a certain quarter,” Mudavadi stated.

He added: “We had evidence of the Government Printers for instance, refusing to gazette and print the results of the elections amid claims that presumably they were waiting for orders from a certain corner.”

Even after elections, Mudavadi said the outgoing President and a section of the then Cabinet Secretaries could still make decisions and gazette names of persons appointed to various positions amidst a transition period to a new regime.

“There are a lot of issues that need to be resolved for Kenyans to heal especially when it comes to matters elections. We need to align key areas for us to move together and leaders, especially politicians should shun from speaking from one side of the divide without exhaustively finding out what is the real situation on the other side,” he stated.

He made the remarks as he also reminded politicians to desist from the misconception that Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioners support certain political divides.

“I want to remind politicians that IEBC commissioners do not vote, it is the people who vote. We need to get away from the fallacy that this side had this number of Commissioners, say four and the other side had three Commissioners. It is time we all ask ourselves the fundamental questions on how we manage our electoral cycle and the final transition of power,” he insisted.

He affirmed that the government is aware of its constitutional obligation to collaborate with all stakeholders in any constitutional journey that will benefit all Kenyans.

“In electoral contests, consolidation of constitutional transformation will require that the legal framework, institutions and administrative and operational processes stimulate the necessary efficiency and transparency to inspire public confidence,” he said.

Mudavadi explained that in the last three elections, the country has tested the legal and institutional framework, and affirmed that the agenda for constitutional transformation is on course.