Uhuru dismisses critics of BBI report, rallies support
President Uhuru Kenyatta makes his remarks during the PCEA Centennial Celebration of First Kirk-Session and the Ordination of Elders at PCEA Tumutumu, Nyeri County on October 25, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Mr Kenyatta said the country was staring at a constitutional moment and rallied his political base to support the implementation of the report for the betterment of the country.
- Dr Ruto’s rallying call against the BBI has been the creation of additional political posts at the top.
President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday dismissed critics of the Building Bridges Initiative report scheduled for official launch today at the Bomas of Kenya and assured his Mount Kenya base that he was on top of things.
Mr Kenyatta said the country was staring at a constitutional moment and rallied his political base to support the implementation of the report for the betterment of the country.
The proposals contained in the report, he said, will see an end to ethnic conflict, divisive politics, economic and social inequities, lopsided development, unchecked corruption and marginalisation of swathes of the country.
He revealed he was concerned by ethnic antagonism and divisive political competition which have become a way of life and that negative politics, violence and corruption are now the main characteristics by which the country had been defined.
According to him, he wants to leave behind a united Kenya when he exits from office in 2022 and his support for the report goes beyond personal interest, driven by the desire to restore harmony among the Kenyan people.
Constitutional changes
Some of the constitutional changes have been opposed by Mr Kenyatta’s deputy, William Ruto, who has set conditions that he wants met before he can support the report. Dr Ruto’s rallying call against the BBI has been the creation of additional political posts at the top.
The report proposes creation of a prime minister position and two deputies as well as an increase in the number of MPs from the current 349 to 360. The PM will be appointed by the president from the party or coalition with a majority in the National Assembly.
But Mr Kenyatta yesterday reiterated that elections alone would not resolve the country’s problems, but constitutional changes that can guarantee the right of every Kenyan, politically and economically.
The Head of State spoke at Giagatika market after attending centennial celebrations and the ordination of the First African Elders at Tumutumu PCEA Church, in Nyeri County.
(Download a copy of the BBI Report: BBI REPORT)
