President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday secured the support of his deputy William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga on the BBI report.
The three met the BBI taskforce at State House Nairobi when a copy of the report was handed over to the President. Sources familiar with the discussion told the Star that the three leaders addressed the taskforce ahead of today’s launch of the report to the public.
Raila and Ruto have been viewed to be on opposite sides when it comes to the Building Bridges Initiative with their allies going at each other. The DP’s allies have threatened to scuttle the report if it proposes to cut presidential powers.
In the proposals by the BBI, the President remains the Head of State and Government but will appoint a Prime Minister similar to the Tanzanian model.
Ruto had arrived at State House mid-morning at the request of the President before being informed that the event would be at 1.30pm.
At around mid-day, he was called back to State House as the President was ready to receive the report. Uhuru received a copy of the report, which he and Raila signed to endorse before moving to the boardroom to address the taskforce. Raila was the first to address the taskforce, retracing Kenya’s struggle for unity since the 1990s.
The former Prime Minister welcomed the brief from the taskforce, noting that it would help address all historical issues that have dogged the country.
Ruto backed Raila’s remarks saying the proposals by the team would help the country achieve unity faster. He also said it was important that Kenyans are encouraged to read the report and make contributions to further enhance the proposals.
Uhuru said he was happy with the report and welcomed the support of the two leaders. The President is said to have commented that the BBI report should be taken as a policy proposal. He said some of the proposals would have to be turned into legal bills while others have to come in the form of policies.
Sources quoted him as saying that some of the proposals would be implemented immediately while others would take time.
He, however, sought to assure the taskforce that he would ensure their proposals are implemented in line with the commitment made by him and Raila on last year’s March 9 handshake.
Edited by R.Wamochie
