Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse speaking at Musambweni Constituency. Photo Courtesy. 
By Andrew Mbuva
Kibwezi West Member of Parliament Mwengi Mutuse has called on Kenyans to uphold the spirit of the Constitution and avoid violent demonstrations as the country prepares to mark this year’s Saba Saba Day.
Speaking at the Kenyatta Primary School grounds in Msambweni Constituency during a women empowerment drive, Mutuse emphasized that the gains fought for during the Saba Saba movement are now well captured in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
“Saba Saba was about multi-party democracy, which we now have. It was about regular, free and fair elections with term limits, among other democratic ideals,” Mutuse said.
The legislator reminded the public that the right to vote and remove leaders from office through elections is already guaranteed under the current constitution.
“If anyone is dissatisfied with any elected leader, they can exercise their voting rights and remove that leader from office when elections are called. Equally, those satisfied can express their confidence by voting the leader again—as long as it's within the two-term limit for Presidents and Governors,” he added.
Mutuse noted that the reason Kenyans took to the streets during the original Saba Saba protests was because such safeguards were absent in the old constitution. He said that the new legal framework provides peaceful alternatives to express discontent or support for governance.
“With the new constitution, Saba Saba should be commemorative, majorly done through exhibitions and public lectures—not destructive demonstrations,” he said.
He called on citizens to reject violence as a tool for political expression, insisting on the need to use legal and peaceful avenues to address grievances.
“I therefore urge Kenyans to use constitutional means that are non-violent to address any governance concerns they may have and shun violence and destruction,” Mutuse stated.
He concluded by urging the public not to drag the country backwards but to build on the democratic progress achieved so far.
“We should not go back to where we started as a country but move forward in tune with our Constitution and laws of Kenya,” the MP asserted.
Saba Saba, Swahili for "Seven Seven," marks July 7, 1990, a historic date when pro-democracy activists staged mass protests demanding political reforms, leading to Kenya’s return to multi-party democracy.
