Siaya County Governor Cornell Rasanga has termed the move by parliament to strip off governors of the title “His Excellency” as selfish.
Rasanga said it would be prudent for the people of Kenya to be given a say in determining whether governors should hold on to the title.
He said the people are comfortable referring to their elected leaders with the banned titles.
The governor said only a referendum should be used to scrap off the title or retain it.
“Let the people be consulted through a referendum and not MPs with selfish interest sitting and deciding elected leaders fate,” he said.
Speaking to the press in Kisumu, Rasanga said Kenya is not the first country to address their governors with such titles and cited the USA where governors are referred to using the ‘Excellency’ tag.
He hinted that the Council of Governors legal committee might challenge the parliament’s approval in court.
Rasanga said they would seek the High Court’s interpretation to find out if the MPs’ move is constitutional.
He said they are ready to proceed to the Supreme Court if they do not succeed in the lower courts.
Members of the National Assembly on Wednesday passed the Order of Precedence Bill which seeks to bring order in addressing public officials at State functions by prescribing tougher penalties for those who break the rule.