Iteso Cultural Union delegates clash over constitution

Iteso Cultural Union (ICU) council meeting on Saturday ended prematurely after members disagreed with the cabinet on constitutional amendments.

Members who stormed out of the meeting argued that cabinet did not follow the right procedures of amending the constitution and yet it's to serve future generations.

The sub county and district ICU chairpersons said some of the amended articles specifically Article 4 of the ICU constitution only showed how the election of the ICU chairpersons from village, parish, sub county, county and district levels is to be conducted but did not clearly specify the elections of the cabinet ministers and the paramount chief of Iteso.

Earlier in the meeting, members started by blaming the deputy minister of constitutional and legal affairs, Joseph Okadapao for spending a lot of time reading and explaining the six pages of the constitution that cabinet amended in their meeting that kicked off on Friday and ended on Saturday afternoon.

Attempts by Okadapao, Nicholas Dokoria the chairperson ICU Council and the ICU prime minister, Paul Sande Emolot to convince members to approve the constitutional amendments were not successful.

Jonathan Maraka the ICU deputy spokesperson said they wanted the constitutional amendments to be blessed by the council such that this council which expired last year after serving for five years is dissolved and fresh elections are conducted with guidance of the amended articles.

Members said copies of the draft of the constitution that was amended were not availed to them for scrutiny and that the views of the people were not captured in the amendments which were to be approved by the council.

Emolot said this was doing a disservice to the August house because only few district chairpersons accepted to submit the views that ICU office had requested them to gather from people so that they are included in the constitution.

He admitted that lack of the copies of the constitution's amended parts to be given to members was due to lack of money for developing more copies.

James Otim, the ICU council speaker who was elected the same day deferred the matter to the next council meeting scheduled for November 19th.