Senate Email System Crashes After Receiving 200,000 Submissions On Presidential Term Limit

The Senate on Friday, October 25 revealed that it had received an overwhelming number of public submissions on a bill proposing to extend the presidential and other elected leaders' term limits from five to seven years to the point of crashing its email system.

This comes after the Senate invited public participation towards the controversial Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Per the law, people can air out their views regarding Bills sponsored in the National Assembly and Senate through electronic means.

In a statement on X, the Senate revealed that the system had received over 200,000 submissions from Kenyans, reaching its maximum limit, though it offered an alternative option for Kenyans to air out their views.

"Thank you for the overwhelming response on The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2024. Due to high volumes of submissions, our email system has temporarily experienced issues.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei. /THE STAR

"The Senate received over 200,000 submissions, reaching the maximum capacity of the allocated email addresses. Alternatively, you may send your submissions to senatejlahrc@parliament.go.ke. We apologise for any inconvenience caused," the Senate remarked.

The deadline for providing submissions has been extended to Saturday, October 26 at 5 pm.

The deadline for submitting views was set for Friday, October 25, with the Senate inviting the public to a hearing at the Senate Chamber on that day. After the expiry of the deadline, the Bill will head back to the Senate where it will be debated with the collected views of the public among the key topics of discussion.

The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is set to be introduced in the Senate for the first reading, and it contains proposals that aim to increase the term limit for not just the President, but also for MPs, MCAs and governors.

“The Bill proposes to amend Article 136 of the Constitution, which provides for the election of the President, to increase the term of President from five years to seven years,” the Bill states in part.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, the sponsor of the Bill, had on September 22, 2023, argued that five years might be insufficient for a president given the workload that is bestowed upon him or her in terms of service delivery to Kenyans as promised in the election manifesto and running of the government. 

It has nonetheless drawn a multitude of reactions from Kenyans, politicians and advocacy groups with a great majority rejecting it, including President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.

Why It Matters

If the proposal contained in the Bill is actualised it then means that if one is elected president he or she would be in office for 7 years with the possibility of extension by another 7-year term.

Currently, Article 142 of the Kenyan 2010 Constitution indicates that: (1) The President shall hold office for a term beginning on the date on which the President was sworn in, and ending when the person next elected President in accordance with Article 136 (2) (a) is sworn in. The President, however, is prohibited from holding office for more than two five-year terms. 

As of now, President Ruto is serving the first two years of his five-year term and is allowed to contest for another term in the 2027 general elections. However, if the Bill is passed before then, it would mean that should Ruto be re-elected in 2027, his second and final term would conclude in 2034.

Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang'wa subsequently proposed a new four-year term limit for the President as well as other elected leaders in what was seen as a response to Cherargei's Bill. He argued that the shorter-term limit would enable the emergence of new leaders who would prioritize the needs of the citizens.