4 August 2010

Nairobi — The Church is ready to accept Kenyans' verdict on the referendum vote cast on Wednesday and move on.

Bishop Maurice Crowley of the Kitale Catholic Diocese said that if the people vote 'Yes', there would be a new constitution whose most ardent supporters acknowledge needs amendments.

Televangelist Mark Kariuki, on the other hand, says that if Kenyans vote 'No', the Church will give its direction.

But if the verdict is 'Yes' and there is no rigging, the Church would go back to the drawing board and establish ways to amend whatever chapters they have issues with.

"It is going to be a long process and some chapters might call for another referendum, but we will sit down and say this is what we have been fighting for and it needs to be amended," he says.

Cabinet minister William Ruto appeared to roll out a new post-referendum programme that will shift debate to the review of contentious issues in constitutional reform regardless of the outcome.

Both the 'No' and 'Yes' sides, he said, must look to perfecting the constitutional document whether they won or lost in the voting that took place on Wednesday.

The two sides, said the Higher Education minister, had a common point of agreement that the document subjected to the vote on Wednesday had anomalies that needed correction.

One of the issued that the two sides have agreed to reform is the number and size of the proposed counties.

Speaking after voting at Kosachei polling station in his Eldoret North constituency, where he cast his vote, Mr Ruto said that whoever won the referendum would have the task of ensuring contentious issues are addressed.

The Eldoret North MP allayed fears of violence in Rift Valley after the referendum. "Those (spreading rumours of imminent violence) are prophets of doom who must be disregarded," he said.