“There will be no referendum”- DP Ruto ‘barking dog’ Dennis Itumbi says

Embattled State House digital strategist Dennis Itumbi has dismissed the ongoing debate for constitutional reforms saying there will be no referendum ahead of 2022 general election.

There have been pull and push on whether to support Thirdway Alliance’s Punguza Mizigo Bill 2019 or yet to be published bill by the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

According to Itumbi, a renowned blogger, none of the two bills will see the light of the day, judging by the laid down guidelines for an amendment to the constitution.

In a series of tweets on Monday, he said a plebiscite can only be through parliamentary or popular initiative, which he observed will be a tough call for the two competing proposals to go through.

“In my layman view, there will be no Referendum! A constitutional Bill, be it Punguza or Ongeza requires 45 Senators to pass and 232 MPs for it to pass. For a Parliamentary initiative, BBI would require those numbers even before a Referendum is discussed,” Itumbi tweeted.

The blogger poured cold water on BBI, which is backed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, saying even though the two command high numbers in National Assembly and Senate, it will be a tall order for the bill to pass through both Houses.

“BBI upon completing its report may hand in a proposed bill to be forwarded to Parliament. In that case, both Houses must pass the bill with “not less than TWO-THIRDS vote of the entire membership of each house ” – Tough call,” he noted.

Punguza Mizigo Bill, which is led by former presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot, has taken the popular initiative approach and is currently being discussed in the county assemblies.

The BBI finalised collection of views from the public last week and it is expected to hand in a report to the handshake principals within two months.