DAVID MURATHE could be an alien to the laws of the land
By Jerome O
To begin, constitutional interpretation and application, is the mandate of the supreme court (article 163 (4) but that doesn’t stop, we pedestrians, also refered as laymen, from discussing and giving our views on the same
In my estimation, the provisions of constitution aren’t read isolation, but one must dig out for other corresponding statutes, or related clauses from the same constitution, to get a clear view or a better understanding
Does the DP tenure run concurrently as that of the president? No. Can Uhuru be Ruto’s running mate? Yes
The constitution, doesn’t seem recognize presidency as inclusive of deputy president, in this context
Read article 146 (4) of the constitution to elucidate this
It states so:
Article 146
(4) If the Deputy President assumes office as President under clause (2) (a), or a person is elected to the office of President under clause (2) (b), the Deputy President, or the person elected, shall be deemed for the purposes of Article 142 (2)— (a) to have served a full term as President if, at the date on which the person assumed office, more than two and a half years remain before the date of the next regularly scheduled election under Article 136 (2) (a); or (b) not to have served a term of office as President, in any other case
This article addresses a different issue, for example, if Uhuru kicks the famous bucket today, and Ruto becomes president as stipulated by the same law, will Ruto be eligible to vie again for two terms or if he will be deemed to have served his first erm in the inherited tenure
This law, doesn’t recognize Ruto (deputy president) to have served as president (despite having served as DP for six years) and that is why it says if Uhuru dies today, he (Ruto) will be president until the end of this five year term, then the law will allow him vie for only one term, but if Uhuru dies towards the end of his term, Ruto will complete the term, then vie for two terms, making him present for more than ten years
In a nutshell, Murathe is a foreigner to the laws of the land
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