NAIROBI, Aug 20, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Kenya's Court of Appeal will give its

verdict on Friday on the president's controversial three-year quest to change
the constitution, a ruling that could shake up the political landscape less
than a year before elections.

  President Uhuru Kenyatta argues his proposed modifications to the 2010
constitution will help end repeated cycles of election violence, a hot-button
issue that has divided the political elite.

  The reforms came about following a rapprochement between Kenyatta and his
erstwhile opponent Raila Odinga and a famous handshake between the two men
after post-election fighting in 2017 left dozens of people dead.

  The so-called Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) seeks notably to dilute the
current winner-takes-all electoral system blamed by Kenyatta for poll unrest,
and create new posts including one of prime minister.

  Election campaigns in the East African country are often fought between
ethnically-based alliances and communal violence can flare, notably in 2007-8
when more than 1,100 people died.

  - 'Will of the people' -

  Kenyatta's proposed reforms were approved by parliament in May and were
then due to be put to a referendum.

  But just two days later, the Nairobi High Court ruled that they were
illegal as the president did not have the right to initiate the process.

  Kenyatta criticised the decision as "an attempt to stop the will of the
people" and his government appealed.

  Proponents of the BBI argue it will improve fairness in the electoral
system and curb the violence.

  If adopted, new positions of prime minister and two deputies would be
created and there would be a formal designation of the post of opposition
leader.

  The size of both houses of parliament would be expanded, while the Senate
would have 50-50 representation between men and women.

  Critics, including Kenyatta's deputy William Ruto, charge that the reforms
are window-dressing.

  The motive, they say, is to increase the number of senior officials who are
using it to lay the groundwork for an alliance ahead of the August 9
elections.

  Some detractors have also argued that they would further burden a country
struggling under a $70-billion debt mountain. The changes would push up
parliament's already sky-high wage bill while creating more opportunities for
patronage and corruption, they say.

  Under the BBI process, the president would remain head of government and
commander-in-chief, while ministers would answer to a prime minister.

  - 'Significant implications' -

  Kenyatta cannot run for a third term in 2022 and his pursuit of the reforms
with Odinga, a four-time presidential contender, has spurred speculation that
he may seek to become prime minister in a power-sharing arrangement.

  Kenyatta had initially anointed Ruto -- who has served as his deputy since
2013 -- as his successor but the pair fell out several years ago after the
president moved closer to Odinga.

  A seven-judge panel will rule on the appeal and also decide if the
president could be sued while still in office for championing the changes.

  The eagerly-awaited verdict -- which is nevertheless subject to appeal at
the Supreme Court -- has a bearing on the election calendar.

  If the BBI is again ruled illegal, the electoral process would follow its
planned course.

  "That would be the least disruption," Nic Cheeseman, a professor at the
University of Birmingham in England, told AFP.

  On the flipside, he said, approval of the BBI "would be the more
destabilising option" because of questions about whether there would be time
to introduce all the reforms by election day.

  There are "quite significant implications here for the political system,
for the elections timetable and also for the political alliances that will be
competing in the election."