Sh500 to attend BBI rally? No way! riled Tharaka Nithi residents say

Only Sh500 bob? No, this cannot happen!

These were the words of a group of Tharaka Nithi residents who were paid Sh500 to attend a BBI rally at Kinoru Stadium in Meru.

"Tumenyanyaswa Kabisa. Shilling mia tano si ya kulipa mwananchi kutoka Chuka hadi meru..na tunashindwa tumekuja kufanya nini Meru (This is unjust. Just Sh500 is not enough to pay people who came all the way from Chuka to Meru. We don't even know why we came)," one of them was heard saying.

Another was heard shouting "even your child cannot be paid Sh500."

As the group showed the Sh500 that they were given, residents who looked dejected said they prefer going back to their work.

"No way - let us go back to out hustle..." another said.

Another man claimed that they were promised Sh3000 which was not delivered.

"Kutoka Chuka mpaka hapa ni Sh300. Nimebaki na Sh200. This will not be enough," he claimed.

Even as the crowd swelled at the stadium, citizens attending the Building Bridges Initiative forum demanded to be supplied with the BBI report.

Some said they are confused and know  nothing inside the BBI report. They say leaders keep on shifting the goal posts with daily proposals and would like today’s forum to comprehensively address their fears.

All is set for the Mt Kenya region rally after ODM leader Raila Odinga met the region's leaders.

The governors drawn from counties in the region met with Raila at his office in Capitol Hill, Nairobi, to brief him on the arrangements ahead of the February 29 rally.

Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia said the rally will focus on the economic issues as well as political.