- The governors save for Mutua have attended the last three BBI rallies, unlike Kalonzo who only attended the Mombasa meeting after skipping both the Kisii and Kakamega rallies.
- The turn of events has pushed Kalonzo, a senior politician in Ukambani, to the corner and is now fighting back to reclaim his position in the national rallies supported by President Kenyatta and Raila Odinga.
Image: PSCU
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka wants term limits for governors removed.
He said some governors support the three-tier governance structure — another layer of costly government — so they can pursue higher positions when their second terms end.
“Remove this thing they call term limits for governors. I know it will be controversial — but so that governors do not think about a third-tier, which will be a problem.”
Kalonzo spoke as debate intensified on the BBI report. Three rallies have been held in Kisii, Kakamega and Mombasa and more have been lined up.
In Ukambani, the Wiper leader is in a do-or-die battle to wrest the Building Bridges Initiative momentum out of governors’ hands.
Already, the three governors — Charity Ngilu (Kitui), Kivutha Kibwana (Makueni) and Alfred Mutua (Machakos) — have positioned themselves as the face of the initiative.
Ngilu and Kibwana have been present at the past three BBI rallies, unlike Kalonzo who only attended the Mombasa meeting.
The turn of events has pushed Kalonzo, a senior politician in the region, to the wall and he is now literally fighting back to reclaim his position on the BBI staged blessed by both President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
The former Vice President has already announced a rally in Wote town in Makueni on February 7 to gain support and popularise the BBI document in Ukambani.
Governors Ngilu and Kibwana have, however, pulled a fast one on Kalonzo, scheduling their BBI rally in Kitui this weekend, a week before the Wote rally.
The Kitui meeting is expected to be attended by a host of national leaders drawn from across the 47 counties.
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua is, however, cautioning against parallel BBI rallies in lower Eastern. Instead, he has called for the postponement of the Saturday event to allow time for the two sides to agree.
The rival rallies are seen as part of the ongoing supremacy battle between the governors and Wiper leader — once the undisputed Ukambani kingpin— for control of the region.
“The Building Bridges initiative is meant to build bridges. In this regard, I am not persuaded that the continuation of different Ukambani factions planning BBI events is helping the BBI agenda of unity,” Mutua said.
“We will be sending the wrong message when we hold different regional meetings based on political followings to discuss the same issue. We need a regional meeting, which brings all of us together to champion BBI on behalf of our people, regardless of our future plans.”
He appealed to leaders from both sides to swallow their competing political ambitions and focus their energies on the common good of the community.
Lower Eastern is expected to host the fourth BBI rally after Kisii, Kakamega and Mombasa. However, the leaders are still divided on which faction will lead the initiative.
Already leaders aligned to former VP are in overdrive, mobilising residents to turn up for the Wote rally.
The Ngilu camp has also held two major rallies ahead of the Saturday rally, which will be presided over by ODM boss Raila Odinga.
Yesterday, business mogul Peter Muthoka tried to broker a deal between the two factions in a meeting that last several hours at Stoni Athi Resort in Machakos county.
By press time, the meeting to hammer out a united approach to the BBI issue was still ongoing, however, according to Mwala MP Vincent Musau, they resolved to attend both meetings.
"We have resolved to attend both the meetings. This does not affect the affiliation we have with other teams," said Musau, who attended the day-long meeting.
The meeting was attended by Kalonzo, Ngilu and a host of elected leaders from the region.
A few kilometres from the meeting venue, several Machakos MCAs called for level-headedness by the two sides, compromising for the sake of the community.
In a last-minute appeal to save the situation, the MCAs told the governors to consider rescheduling the Saturday Kitui event to give room and time for consultation.
They claimed that holding the two parallel rallies will split the region and defeat the very essence of Building Bridges.
"I urge the three governors and all other political leaders across the political divide to plan an urgent meeting and Stephen Kalonzo to sit and agree on an all-inclusive meeting encompassing all key political players in the region for the sake of our people," Kangundo West MP Titus Kaloki said.
"It is quite important that as a region we will be seen united, speaking the same language, in order for us to be respected and be seen as a focused community".
(Edited by V. Graham)