The Building Bridges Initiative is now a Kenyan affair and no longer an issue between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has said.
Kalonzo said the name needs to be changed from BBI to depersonalise the report for Kenyans to own it fully.
“It is now a Kenyan affair and we want this thing depersonalised. It is a document that seeks to improve on the 2010 Constitution which received world acclamation as the most progressive Constitution,” he said.
Kalonzo spoke at Panari Hotel in Nyahururu town during his Mt Kenya tour to drum up support for the BBI.
He said if Kenyans could adhere to the principles as provided in the 2010 Constitution the nation would make progress.
He said the BBI is all about unity of Kenyans and regretted that some leaders who opposed the 2010 Constitution are now opposing the BBI.
Such people, he said, would oppose anything. The BBI, he said, is like food on the table for Kenyans and should be embraced by everyone.
He said once implemented, the document would be a vital tool for empowerment of youths, women and special groups.
“Instead of giving wheelbarrows to the youth, the BBI will give them a fishing rod, literally empowering them.”
He said the hustlers versus dynasties narrative being propagated by the DP’s Tangatanga grouo is dangerous for the country as it is likely to prompt a class war between the haves and have0-nots.
Kalonzo said after being involved in making peace in Somalia and South Sudan, he is well aware that it is very easy to light a fire but putting it off becomes a problem.
“This document says that every Kenyan must be included going forward. But if you are looking at hustlers versus dynasties and then you radicalise the minds of Kenyan youths, you are creating a problem,” he said
He said this is a moment for reflection for Kenyans and everyone should be their brother's and sister's keeper.
The Wiper leader said the BBI report deals with the challenge of the two-thirds gender rule.
He said the Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi should appreciate this fact and stop fighting for dissolution of Parliament and radicalising society.
The Wiper chief said that the Ward Development Fund proposed in the BBI report is a great idea and was his party's proposal. He said he would be shocked by any MCA who opposes the document.
“I am a constitutional lawyer and I want to tell you a Constitution cannot be static. It has to always be responsive to the political and the people’s environment, and so, people should not look at the BBI as a suspicious document. That is why it must be depersonalised,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori
