Assemblies vote doesn't reflect people's will, Kang'ata says on BBI

Murang'a Senator Irungu Kang'ata says his letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta, on the alleged unpopularity of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) in Mt Kenya, remains factual despite the Bill’s endorsement by many counties.

Mr Kang'ata said on Tuesday that the President's support for the MCAs’ Sh4.5 billion car grant contributed to the adoption of the BBI Bill. 

"There is no doubt that the car grant was very crucial in swaying the MCAs. We are still not at the point where we can exactly say the BBI is representative of the Mt Kenya people's will. Even nationally we are not yet certain. County assemblies are not the people," he told the Nation.

He said that the next battlefront is the formulation of the referendum questions.

“The country remains more divided than ever. To heal the divisions, we must have an uncontested vote," the senator said.

Mr Kang'ata said the best way to achieve this type of vote is to have a multiple choice referendum, as this will expand the freedom of choice regarding the many amendments proposed.

The lawmaker, who was kicked out of the prestigious Senate majority whip position over his controversial December 30, 2020 letter, joined Deputy President William Ruto's Tangatanga faction of the ruling Jubilee Party.

In his letter, he anticipated the BBI would flop in the region owing to its association with “an unpalatable political formation, use of civil servants to advance it as well as segregation of even the handshake loyalists”.

 He said he conducted his own poll that deduced that of 10 Mt Kenya voters, six are opposed to the BBI, two are in support while two are indifferent.