There is no time to introduce new ideas in the revised BBI document, ODM leader Raila Odinga said on Sunday.
“Right now, as you know, the document is out. We have already started the journey. At this moment in time it is too late to accommodate fresh views,” Raila said.
The former Prime Minister said those who feel their views have not been captured in the BBI will have another opportunity in subsequent amendments.
“I thank those who have heeded our call and showed up to append their signatures. From there, we will go to the second part, then the third and the fourth.”
Raila spoke aboard the Tamarind Dhow during a luncheon with members of the Islamic community. They presented him with a 28-point memorandum on issues they would like the country’s leadership to take into consideration.
The memo included the appointment of Muslims to diplomatic positions in Islamic countries, the establishment of Kadhi’s Court of Appeal, and elevation of the status of the Kenyan Chief Kadhi to that of a judge.
The Muslims also want Parliament to inact a new Wakf Commission Bill to replace the old one and the appointment of a new board.
The team was led by Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council chair Sheikh Juma Ngao.
Raila said the country replaced the Lancaster constitution with a purely Kenyan one in 2010.
“This time we are not coming up with a new constitution. We are only amending it,” he said.
“We are only looking at where the shoe pinches and rectifying those aspects. If you feel that what you would have liked has not been adequately captured, there will be another time,” he said.
He said the Constitution is a living document and will always be there as long as society exists.
Sheikh Ngao said it was misleading to say the BBI was meant to create positions to benefit a few individuals.
“These positions will be anchored in the Constitution. That means even 100 years from now, my great-great-grandchildren will be able to occupy these positions. We will not be there,” the cleric said.
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib said on behalf of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho that the majority of Muslims supports the BBI.
“This is because there are issues in BBI that were not addressed before, but which the initiative has addressed since President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga sat down and listened to our plight,” Twalib said.
He said issues such as the blue economy and cash crops at the Coast are well anchored.
“BBI has come to address contentious issues that were in the 2010 Constitution. Issues pertaining to human rights and the economy,” Twalib said.
Sheikh Ngao urged those who are still doubting the contents of the BBI to carefully read and understand it.
“Let no one make you worry. BBI’s main aim is to bring peace and unite all people in Kenya. So, I ask all Muslims in Kenya to append their signatures, so we can go to the referendum and amend some of the issues in the Constitution,” he said.
Raila said no document made by man can be perfect.
Sheikh Rishard Ramadhan, who represented Majlis Ulamaa, said some of the issues they had, have already been taken care of in the BBI.
He urged all Muslims to support the document, saying they will benefit from it.
“Staying away from such opportunities and bickering or shying away from meeting the leaders is not the solution,” Sheikh Ramadhan said.
