Ruto slams ‘selfish’ idea to scrap president term limit

Kenya’s President William Ruto has condemned comments from a lawmaker that the country should scrap its two-term presidential limit, describing it as “selfish”.

“Do not spend your time pushing for selfish and self-serving legislation like changing the constitution to remove term limits, my focus is service to the people,” President Ruto, who came into office in September, is quoted as saying.

Recently, MP Salah Yakub, from the governing United Democratic Alliance (UDA), sparked controversy after he called for the presidential term limit to be removed because it “hindered the head of state from developing the nation”.

“The terms of the presidency should not be limited to two terms, three terms, or even four. If the president is doing a good job he should extend his term,” Mr. Yakub was quoted as saying by the Citizen news site, adding that some of his fellow MPs are pushing for this rule change.

But Mr. Ruto’s UDA party denied the claim.