President Uhuru Kenyatta says he is taking charge of the referendum campaigns as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process gathers momentum after Thursday’s handover of the signatures to the electoral body for verification.
All eyes are on the President’s Mt Kenya backyard, the new vote-hunting ground. The President, who has visited other regions to sell the Handshake deal with ODM leader Raila Odinga and the need to change the constitution to foster inclusivity and equity, is said to be planning a whirlwind tour of the country.
Senate chief whip Irungu Kang’ata told the Saturday Nation that the President is targeting consensus building on all remaining fronts of the referendum, key among them being the formulation of referendum question(s), policy interventions on issues that require no national suffrage to effect as well as to heal political rifts.
“The President is now taking charge of the BBI and the referendum. He is the one to ascent to the referendum bills and is the one who is tasking both the majorities in Senate and the National Assembly in conjunction with the National Treasury to come up with a referendum budget. It is important to all of us that he succeeds as, truth be told, we in Mt Kenya stand among the best gainers if it sails through,” Mr Kang’ata said.
He said that the President is leading negotiations behind the scenes to achieve as much consensus as possible before the referendum, “a fact that was laid bare when the BBI draft was amended to accommodate some of the issues his deputy William Ruto, who enjoys a sizeable following in the region, had raised.”
Mr Kang’ata said he has been mandated to whip Dr Ruto’s Tangatanga “generals” in Mt Kenya to support the law changes “and I have already reached out to Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, Kiharu’s Ndindi Nyoro and Mathira’s Rigathi Gachagua.”
Mr Nyoro confirmed that there are talks going on but added that the Kieleweke side must remain true to the BBI cause and delink it from sneaking in a Handshake presidential candidate.
“It is true we are talking. But we in Tangatanga have made it very clear that we will not negotiate on our 2022 political decision to back Dr Ruto. Our Kieleweke brothers and sisters are attempting to attach supporting Mr Raila Odinga for 2022 as a condition. That is what we are refusing,” he said.
As the President prepares for the rallies, expected at the end of the Covid-19 restrictions in January, he has recently launched or inspected regional development projects, which insiders say he will use to “soften the ground” for the BBI message.
Mt Kenya has seen several of these infrastructural projects. Just yesterday, Kenya Railways put out a passenger train on its maiden journey from Nairobi to Nanyuki. The opening of the line, which has been in disuse in close to two decades, is historic and it is seen to boost trade and tourism in the region.
The train with a capacity of up to 1,600 passengers on a single trip will depart from Nairobi at 8am Fridays to arrive in Nanyuki at 2pm. It will leave Nanyuki on Sundays at 8am to arrive in the capital city at 2pm.
Commuters travelling from Nairobi to Nanyuki will be charged Sh200 on second class coaches and between Sh50 and Sh100 for inter-terminus trips that will serve Murang’a, Makuyu, Maragua, Sagana, Karatina, Kiganjo, Chaka and Naromoru stations.
Cargo transporters will pay Sh4,720 per tonne for transport from Mombasa to Nanyuki while cargo from Athi River to Sagana will pay Sh846 per tonne. General cargo from Nanyuki to Nairobi will be charged Sh730 per tonne whereas that from Sagana to Nairobi will be charged a fee of Sh400 per tonne.
For petroleum products, one will be expected to pay Sh1,640 per tonne of petrol from Nairobi to Nanyuki while from Mombasa to Nanyuki one parts with Sh4,940 per tonne. To transport diesel from Nairobi to Nanyuki will cost Sh1,560 per tonne and Sh4,720 per tonne from Mombasa to Nanyuki. For lubricating oil, one will pay Sh1,125 per tonne from Nairobi to Nanyuki and Sh4,300 per tonne to transport from Mombasa to Nanyuki.
Earlier this week, President Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a multimillion-shilling one-stop border post in Moyale, in efforts to boost economic ties between Kenya and her northern landlocked neighbour. The two leaders later toured the Lamu port and other infrastructure projects in Mombasa.
Meanwhile, his Handshake partner Raila Odinga has also been busy. He has toured many parts of the country to sell the BBI. Yesterday, the ODM leader was in Nyandarua at the home of nominated MP Maina Kamanda, where leaders from Central, Coast and Nairobi said they would support the initiative.
The meeting featured governors Francis Kimemia (Nyandarua), Kiraitu Murungi (Meru), Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), Martin Wambora (Embu), David Nyoro (Kiambu), and at least 15 MPs from the region.
“I fought with Mr Raila because of retired President Kibaki and again for Uhuru Kenyatta, but they are now united. Raila is a man of his word. Who can defeat Raila and Uhuru when they are together? If it is about the BBI, be assured it will pass. It’s the best constitutional document for Kenyans” said Mr Murungi.
Fomer Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, who is said to be eyeing a pole position in the Raila line-up, said Mr Odinga has never lost any referendum, and his unity with President Kenyatta placed the community at a better place to be in the next government.
But Mr Odinga said he and the President had a lengthy discussion on how to unite Kenyans, and the next General Election was not in the discussion.
“I have heard what other speakers have said, but what the President and I want is to ensure there is never a repeat of what happens after every General Election. We know where we are headed, the unity of Kenyans is more important to me and my brother Uhuru Kenyatta,” said Mr Odinga.
Mr Kamanda said the President and Mr Odinga “know where we have come from as a country, where we are headed and where we are headed”. “Uhuru has the interest of the community and Kenyans, there is no way he can mislead Kikuyu Community,” said Governor Kimemia.
Mr Amos Kimunya, the Kipipiri MP, said BBI is an initiative of two people, one who will retire and the other one be left to implement. “Do not allow those propagating against the BBI to steal the show. Do not follow people who cannot make a decision and stand their position. I have worked with Mr Raila, they are closely working with President Uhuru and I can assure we are headed in the right direction,” said Mr Kimunya.
