President Uhuru Kenyatta (R) and Raila Odinga. [Photo: BuzzKenya/Kenya-today]
It is possible for Uhuru to be president until 2027.According to Communication Strategist Mark Bichachi, Raila will make Uhuru president almost for life.In an opinion piece published by the Standard in September, in legal theory, it is possible for Uhuru’s incumbency until then, since there is no gap in leadership.The Constitution dictates that any public office bearer holds that position “until hand-over, not until an election.” “What that means is former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero was governor until he handed over power to Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi aka Sonko. In like manner, Uhuru is still president until he hands over, to himself or to a president-elect,” according to Bichachi.Bichachi adds that: “As such we have a substantive president in Uhuru, now this is not good news for NASA but the law is the law, an ass or not.”He adds that not holding an election would mean that Uhuru stays on as president, but the question would be, for how long? Constitutionally, a rerun has to be held within 60 days and “Since we are not in a state of war, we cannot postpone elections. Hence 60 days is all we have. The Supreme Court wouldn’t help either because there is no constitutional basis to do so.”To further drive this, Bichachi assumes that no election in 60 days means no election until the next constitutionally recognised period, which is the first Tuesday in the month of August 2022. “Therefore since the Constitution does not allow for a vacuum, Uhuru will stay on as President. This part is easy enough to grasp but now will the next five years be considered a new term or will it be still his first term?”He points out: “Since the election on August 8 was null and void, legally there was no election. Meaning his term hasn’t ended. Therefore, and I tread carefully here, no elections means Uhuru can run again for president and be president until 2027.”Bichachi says the implications of this are far-reaching and mind-boggling as to what happens to the nation? “Well, the answer is, for the most part, we will be fine. It simply means the status quo remains and is maintained.”He advises NASA thus: “Choose carefully, boycott and Uhuru is president until 2022 or run with the punches and you could win big, after all it was Fazul Mohammed’s hubris that led you to court, and you won. Gamble again NASA, gamble again.”This piece first appeared in the Standard on September 22.
Mark Bichachi (@MarkBichachi) is a communication strategist