Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has urged Kenyans to support President William Ruto’s bid for a second term, arguing that the Constitution deliberately provides for a 10-year, two-term presidency to afford a Head of State sufficient time to initiate, implement, and complete national development programmes.
Speaking on Sunday during an interdenominational worship and thanksgiving service in Ziwa, Soy Constituency, the Deputy President dismissed calls for the President to serve only one term, characterising such a stance as a misinterpretation of the Constitution.
“The constitution has designed a two-term period for the President of Kenya to be able to start and complete programs, and therefore anybody trying to sell a narrative of anything short of a two-term must know they are undermining the constitution of Kenya,” Kindiki stated.
The Deputy President highlighted that the two-term limit is a relatively recent constitutional safeguard, contrasting it with the previous arrangement that lacked any term limits. This, he noted, created a void that allowed Kenya’s first and second presidents, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi, to remain in office for 15 and 24 years respectively.
He said the current Constitution, which Kenyans must now uphold, acknowledges that no president can fully deliver on development promises within a single five-year term. Hence, the provision for re-election allows a sitting president to account for progress made in the first term before seeking a mandate to complete their agenda.
“Hakuna kitu kama one term kwa katiba. Yule mtu anasema one term hajasoma katiba. Term ya kwanza ni ya kuleta programs, kuleta policies, kuleta marekebisho na kuleta ile miradi ambayo inaambatana na ruwaza ya huyo kiongozi. Term ya pili ni ya kukamilisha,” he explained. (There is no such thing as a one-term presidency in the Constitution. Anyone who claims otherwise has not read it. The first term is for introducing programmes, policies, reforms, and projects aligned with a leader’s vision; the second term is for their completion.)
According to the Deputy President, President Ruto has already initiated numerous programmes across sectors including agriculture, housing, healthcare, infrastructure, and social protection, and should be granted another five years to complete them for the benefit of Kenyans.
The Deputy President also addressed the planned demonstrations scheduled for Thursday, June 25, cautioning organisers and participants against any acts of violence or destruction of property. While affirming that the right to protest is constitutionally guaranteed, he clarified that this right does not extend to lawlessness, and assured that security agencies would be deployed to maintain order.
“On Thursday, there will be no monkey business anywhere in Kenya. If you wish to make noise in the town, make your noise, then go home in the evening. But matters of breaking shops, matters of injuring citizens, forget it,” Kindiki warned.
