Deputy President William Ruto has finally indicated that he will throw his weight behind the push to amend the Constitution spearheaded by his boss Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, a departure from his hardline stance on proposed changes to the Constitution.
At a meeting with his inner circle last evening in Karen, the DP’s seat of power, the second in command said there was in no hurry to explain his position to his supporters, even as they told him that they were under immense pressure to point to which way to the referendum.
But, in the end, DP told them that he would need to inform the Church and the civil society about his change of heart before going public on his stand to support the BBI.
The DP, aware of the weight of the matter at hand, assembled all his advisers in a meeting that lasted over four hours -- at some point held in separate groups -- to explain to them why NO was not a viable option for him.
Casting his lot with the No group would have meant funding both the camp opposed to the idea of changing the laws and then less than a year later finance his presidential campaign, an expensive venture the man from Sugoi saw as not worth his while.
In his bid to succeed Mr Kenyatta as the fifth president, Dr Ruto has been banking on the Church as a key constituency to ride to the House on the Hill. He thus feels he owes it, and some voices in the civil society after a brutal crackdown in 2017, an explanation before making any public declaration, given his change of mind insofar as the question of referendum is concerned.
In the meeting, sources told us that he said he would meet with the “stakeholders” early in the week and then endorse the Building Bridges Initiative Taskforce Report (BBI) in what promises to redraw the political landscape initially crafted with him in mind as the opposing force.
“The boss felt that courtesy demands he explains to his ‘friends’ the latest development before taking a final stance on the move to change the supreme laws of the land. Expect an announcement next week,” a high-ranking member of DP’s strategy team present at the meeting told the Saturday Nation last evening.
Dr Ruto has been rooting for a uncontested referendum but demanding that changes be made to the BBI report before he can support it. His new position effectively renders those who have declared their opposition to the bid to change the supreme laws of the land such as religious groups and the civil society orphans, as they had been banking on him to own and lead the NO camp.
“New Article 11A in the BBI Bill introduced after Bomas will anchor the ordinary peoples’ hustler economics of wheelbarrow, boda×2, mama mboga, pastoralists/butchers and guaranteed minimum returns on coffee, tea, korosho, sukari, maize. Bottom up not trickledown economics,” he said in a tweet yesterday.
The tweet, which is not factual as the Article 11 A was in the document launched at Bomas, signalled Dr Ruto’s softening stance on the proposed constitutional changes. For some, the tweet and the information coming from his camp of his intention to endorse and campaign for the proposed changes is a portrait of a man who seems to have limited options and is preparing his constituency that has been vehemently opposed to the move to amend the constitution into finally accepting the inevitable.
A number of analysts and observers weighed in immediately he fired the tweet saying the DP had abandoned the NO camp he initially appeared to lead.
As if taking cue, at least eight of the 14 governors in his Rift Valley home turf yesterday pledge to marshal support for the BBI and help collect the one million signatures required to move the process to the next.
Governors Samuel Tunai (Narok), Joseph ole Lenku (Kajiado),Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru), Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu),Alex Tolgos (Elgeyo Marakwet),Prof John Lonyangapuo (West Pokot), Patrick Khaemba (Trans Nzoia) and Laikipia’s Ndiritu Muriithi all declared their intention to spearhead the process.
Already, some of the key proponents of the BBI in the region regarded as DP Ruto’s political backyard, have taken charge of the one million referendum signatures drive.
For instance on Friday, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui launched the signature collection drive in Nakuru Town, vowing to rally residents to support the exercise.
“As Nakuru leaders, we are fully behind the one million referendum signatures collection drive. I will lead other leaders to mobilise residents to back the exercise because the BBI proposals means well for this country,” said Governor Kinyanjui during the launch.
Mr Kinyanjui was accompanied by MPs David Gikaria (Nakuru Town East), Samuel Arama (Nakuru Town West), Martha Wangari (Gilgil), Kuria Kimani (Molo), Nakuru County Assembly Speaker Joel Kairu and a host of ward representatives.
Also present was Rift Valley regional coordinator George Natembeya,who promised to rope in government officials to lead the campaigns.
Among issues the leaders lauded include the proposal to give Nakuru five additional constituencies and the increase of allocations to counties from 15 per cent to 35 per cent.
In Narok, Governor Tunai who spoke while unveiling development projects in Narok East Sub-county said the Maasai community is ready to participate in the collection of signatures that was launched on Wednesday by President Uhuru Kenyatta has handshake partner Raila Odinga.
Mr Tunai said he would mobilise resources to help in translating the BBI report to the Maa dialects – Maasai, Samburu and Njemps – to make sure everyone in the counties reads and understands the document, before it is subjected to a vote in the referendum next year.
Increase of county allocation
“I held a meeting on Wednesday with other BBI proponents from the region and plans are underway to mobilise the community, the youth ,the elderly and everyone else, so that we can go ahead and collect the signatures.The BBI is good because it proposes an increase of county allocation from 15 to 35 per cent which will ensure the success of devolution due to provision of adequate resource to counties,” said Mr Tunai. “We will rally our people through churches, meetings, and vernacular radio stations to educate them on the document and make sure they support something they understand.”
The governor launched a Sh45 million water project at Oltepesi Lolaimutia Primary School, jointly funded his government and the Water Sector Trust Fund .
Mr Tunai also issued cheques worth over Sh8 million for construction of several school projects and health centres in Mosiro ward when he addressed residents at Ongata Naado Primary School.
The governor who was accompanied by Narok East MP Lemanken Aramat, an ally of DP Ruto,also cited the Ward Development fund of five per cent which will directly help in development at the grassroots.
Mr Aramat is among the MPs in the region who are against the document. Others include Gabriel ole Tongoyo(Narok West) and Narok Women Rep Soipan Kudate. Ms Kudate has vowed to mobilise women in the region to reject the document.
Others supporting the BBI drive include Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources Keriako Tobiko, Principal Secretary Charles ole Sunkuli and MP Moitalel ole Kenta.
By Justus Wanga, Eric Matara and George Sayagie
