constitution of kenya review commission ckrc ... - ConstitutionNet

I give the following recommendations: The President should cease being legally immune to prosecution while in office, and after
leaving office. There should be no provision for negotiation for provision of amnesty clause, created either by the parties, it
should be unconstitutional. The tenure of the President should be clearly stipulated to avoid creating a legal lacuna, and
possibility of inconsistencies bent on expanding the lifespan of the Presidency. The powers to grant amnesty should be vested
in an amnesty committee created by Parliament, but not vetted in the President. Membership to the committee should be drawn
from individuals, with a distinguished track record, and from various professions, various genders, various age groups, so they
become representatives and from various regions.
The second point is the reform of the legislative level or Parliamentary. Prospective members of Parliament or Councillors,
those people seeking for positions, should undertake a language proficiency test administered by an independent body;
consisting of professionals from different areas. The body should be autonomous from the Electoral Commission or the
Executive but should be subject to the Judicial arm. The public and the media should allowed to the oral presentation of this
proficiency tests, even what kind of test is done because the kind of mediocre personalities we do get who have passed the
proficency test, yet they can never express themselves in any of the national languages Swahili or English. Political parties
nomination should be subject to certain conditions. These conditions are, people who lost in a previous election, should not be
nomitated to Parliament, or to the local authority. People who also have a criminal record, who have been convicted for a
criminal offence.
The chair of the Electoral Commission, and the Commissioners, should be elected for a term of five years; and which can be
extended subject to Parliamentary appraisal of their performance. The Electoral Commission should be reconstituted every five
years and mandated to make a continuous voters registration register update, and also it should draw its funds from the
consolidated funds to avoid the problems where the Electoral Commission relies or asked to go to Parliament to ask for more
funds. So it is subject to manipulation. National elections should be conducted in phases. What I mean by this is, like
Presidental elections should done on a separate date, and Parliamentary and civic elections should be done on a separate date.
This will avoid cases of people voting according to political parties, like what happened in 1992 where people were just voting
because the voting for the Presidential candidates, you’ll vote for the Councillors from the same parties, and same Parliamentary
candidates. The position of the Mayor should be made elective.
There is need to enact an act of Parliament, for the state to make sure there is free primary and secondary education for all
children. Thank you.
Com. Wambua: Atakae fuata ni James Maina.
James Maina: Habari zenu? My first point will be. I recommend that the Constitution should be taught in schools, in a
simplified manner, so that people can understand it, and this will ensure compliance and avoid ignorance. You know that you
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