PRESS STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR ISAAC RUTO EGH ON THE REFERENDUM ISSUE

I wish to state that a meeting was called this morning by the Hon Joshua Kutuny in his capacity as the political adviser to the Presidency, to discuss the referendum issue with me, the Chairman of the Council of Governors.

During the discussion, it was acknowledged that the referendum debate had become a divisive matter since the two levels of government hold opposing positions on the same and that political interests had invaded what is essentially a national interest issue.

As the council of governors, we hold the position that it is our constitutional mandate to be the guardians of devolution and we jealously protect the rights of Kenyans to enjoy the fruits of our new devolved systems of government without undue harassment from any sectors of the society.

We advocate for all that is good and beneficial to the people of Kenya, under the new constitutional dispensation.

In the meeting, I made it clear that the governors were unhappy with the manner in which the national government has handled issues around devolution and the outright left-right-and-center assault on the of our county government systems.
Kenyans have been witness to what has been going on in our country. The media has been reporting well.

On his part, Hon. Kutuny expressed the desire of the national government to engage in dialogue to resolve the matter in an amicable manner.
In response, I stated that the Council of Governors were not averse to dialogue provided that any discussions were honest, structured and designed to produce acceptable results to Kenyans.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT:

Never did I indicate that myself or the Council of Governors had withdrawn from the drive for a referendum and full implementation of devolution as envisioned in the constitution and voted for overwhelmingly by the majority of Kenyans.

H.E. Hon. Isaac Ruto, EGH.
Chairman, Council of Governors