60% of Kenyans support bill to extend presidential term limits: Cherargei claims

Speaking during Senate proceedings on Tuesday, Cherargei claimed that 60 per cent of Kenyans who engaged in the public participation phase are in support of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No 2) Bill, 2024, while 40 per cent are opposed to it. 

Cherargei's remarks drew reactions from other senators who questioned the credibility of his statement. 

He noted that over 500,000 Kenyans participated in voicing their opinions regarding the bill. 

"Even the Senate email is approaching 500,000 that reacted to my bill and Kenyans are 60/40. As of now, 60 per cent are supporting my bill while 40 per cent are rejecting it," he noted. 

Cherargei was voicing concerns regarding data privacy policies; citing that he was also a victim as his phone was flooded with thousands of calls and texts from the public.  

"I have been a victim for the past week. My phone has been called, I have received insults, praises. As we speak today, my phone has over 12,000 sms, close to 20,000 WhatsApp texts, received so many calls and there is a data privacy breach that no one is addressing, and they are salimiaring me," Cherargei said. 

Delving further into data privacy, the Senator also addressed the reports of police officers accessing Kenyans' call records to locate and arrest suspects involved in the anti-government protests. 

A report, published by Daily Nation on Tuesday, painted a picture of how telco companies provided law enforcement officers access to Kenyans' sensitive data. 

Cherargei appealed to the Committee of National Security to summon Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to clarify the reports. 

"I'm disappointed with allegations that Safaricom shared triangulation coordinates for the police and DCI to arrest Kenyans. That is infringing rights to privacy," Cherargei noted. 

"The committee of National Security should invite the Police IG. Why would you share the location of a Kenyan and to do so one must get a court order," he added.