The elite is fast ganging up against Dr Aukot’s Punguza Mizigo Bill. As the elite continue with their criticism, the ordinary mass would want to glean that which is appealing to them in the Bill.
Punguza Mizigo Bill is reminiscent of the Okoa Kenya Bill which was spearheaded by ODM leader Raila Odinga in 2016. With all the hype and pomp Okoa Kenya was carried out with, it failed to meet the expectations of the IEBC. It flopped just at its initiation. It actually could not surmount the first huddle. This means that Aukot’s bill has succeeded where Raila could not.
As we speak now, Aukot has triumphed over three hurdles: a herculean task of collecting one million plus signatures, a rigorous clearance by the IEBC, and the tumbling down of the court case that was lodged against the Bill in the High Court. This actually makes some leaders green with envy, especially the ODM brigade, because seemingly Aukot has trodden the path which they tried to tread with Okoa Kenya Bill and failed.
The best these leaders could do is to look into what is good in the Bill and discuss it soberly. Aukot who seems to be meaning well to the country has already extended an invitation to any leader who may want to help shape the Bill as he moves forward. Therefore, what Raila needs to look into is to evade men who seem to be pervaded by chauvinism.
Informed argument holds that constitutional amendment can be done through popular initiative by anyone as enshrined in Article 257. This is what Aukot has done. Anyone that argues on the contrary just casts aspersion on the person and legal mind of Aukot.
Even if you are advocating change in order for few individuals to gain positions, we must be cognizant of the reality that the power and its trappings are transient; humanity linger. So the issues that bedevil humanity must be resolved first before any apportioning of political posts is expedited. We must be alive to the fact that unemployment has gone through the roof.
Just last year, Mathare MP Antony Oluoch (ODM) demanded a special fund to tackle the problem. He quipped that it should actually be declared a national disaster. This obviously means that the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow wide. The idea of creating another 14 regional governments, that is ODM’s brainchild, just adds insult to injury when no proper measures are put toward in solving this national menace.
Aukot’s Bill is a gift to Kenyans. The fact that Aukot’s Bill has come this far may only be explained that it is the hand of God who wants to unshackle the poor from unrelenting grip of power brokers.