BBI dilemma: Which way for Ruto?

Deputy President William Ruto is back to the drawing board to rework his BBI strategy after President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga seemed to shut the door for dialogue and because of rising Covid-19 cases.

On Monday, the President and the former Prime Minister co-chaired a meeting of their allies in Naivasha during which they ruled out opening the document to further amendment.

Yesterday, Ruto announced that he had suspended his 'empowerment tours' of the country because of Coronavirus cases.

"The upsurge in Covid-19 cases strongly indicates that a second wave my be in the offing.

"For this reason, I have decided to significantly scale down my public engagements until further notice. The empowerment meetings for this weekend in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni are postponed," the DP tweeted.

Political leaders, including Kenyatta, Raila and Ruto, have been accused of helping spread the virus by conducting public gatherings.

Yesterday, Ruto allies said the suspension of the events will give them a chance to review their referendum strategy.

"Although some of our supporters wanted us to go ahead with the empowerment tours, some of us are of the opinion that it's wrong to go ahead with meet-the-people tours, with covid ravaging the country," Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa said.

The Ruto team, according to sources, will have to decide to join forces with some civil society actors and aggressively campaign against the BBI report or continue pushing for dialogue.

There's a third group of Ruto supporters who are urging caution and moderation in what they do. These group is asking the Tangatanga brigade to think about all the consequence of their actions as they race towards the 2022 election. 

The DP has expressed reservations on the proposals contained in the Building Bridges Initiative report, which he says weakens the Senate, belittles the role of women in leadership, erodes the independence of the Judiciary and the police, and puts the independence of the IEBC in jeopardy.

The fear in Ruto’s camp is that should he mount an opposition against a referendum, he runs the risk of losing the support of the Mt Kenya region, which he is banking on for support in his 2022 presidential bid.

The other fear is that should Ruto unsuccessfully lead no campaigns against the referendum, the winners (Uhuru and Raila) can build on the momentum to vanquish his ambitions.  

While the office of the Deputy President is protected in the Constitution, there are fears that should the anticipated referendum go either way, the President can institute far-reaching changes in the Jubilee administration, including sponsoring an impeachment to kick out the DP.

Former President Mwai Kibaki in November 2005 was forced to reconstitute his entire Cabinet after Raila, who was the Minister for Roads and Infrastructure, led seven ministers to oppose the Wako draft constitution.

Ironically, Raila rebelled against the draft constitution saying the presidency had been given overriding powers, an argument those opposed to the BBI report are citing. Ruto allies say the BBI report seeks to recreate an imperial president.

Ruto and his lieutenants had pegged their hopes on Uhuru’s assurances during the BBI launch at Bomas of Kenya last week that the views of Kenyans would be incorporated “to improve the document”.

Allies of the Deputy President are expected to meet this morning to deliberate on the report and chart the way forward.

Organisers of the meeting to be held in Nairobi told the Star that by last evening, at least 137 senators and members of the National Assembly had confirmed their attendance.

So far, the allies of the DP have given mixed signals on their stand on the report, with some hinting that they will oppose it.

Elgeyo Marakwet senator called on the President to be “a statesman and allow Kenyans to make BBI report a great document”.

The former Senate Majority leader said constitutional amendments should not be convoluted with 2022 succession politics but meant for posterity and prosperity of all.

“The President in Kisii while receiving BBI report insisted that Kenyans must read for themselves and make recommendations to improve it. We now want the President to urgently announce the structure of engagement so that various stakeholders will submit their concerns,” he told the Star on the phone.

“The BBI proponents must never trivialise serious constitutional concerns by confusing it with their political competition with William Ruto.”

His Tharaka Nithi counterpart Kindiki Kithure, however, gave the clearest indication yet that he will be leading the no brigade against the referendum.

Kindiki, who was kicked out of the position of the Senate Deputy Speaker in the anti-Ruto purge implemented by Uhuru, said the BBI has been tailor-made for Raila to ascend to power in 2022.

“Looking at the Naivasha weekend outing, the pretence that the BBI was about uniting Kenyans and building bridges of friendship across the board is over.

"For two years, the country's significant resources and attention have been wasted in a purely partisan process whose single objective is to prop one side in the oncoming Ruto-Raila presidential election duel,” he said.

“What has eventually happened is exactly what some of us had predicted would happen right from March 9, 2018, the day the Jubilee Party died. We are ready.”

Kindiki insists that at least five per cent of national revenue should be set aside to subsidise small-scale farmers as guaranteed minimum return for farmers and a further five per cent to be set aside for grants for small and micro enterprises.

He says without the recommendations being captured in the report, he will have no option other than to oppose. 

Former Majority Whip in the National Assembly Benjamin Washiali said the manner in which Uhuru and Raila are driving the BBI agenda “raises more questions than answers”.

The Mumias East MP said locking out majority of Kenyans from making their final views “amounts to dictatorship.”

“During the launch of the report at the Bomas of Kenya, the President was clear that Kenyans will make their proposal that will improve the document. What changed? Kenyans have been locked out of this process since day one and it is clear Uhuru and Raila had a predetermined outcome,” he told the Star on the phone.

Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi told off Uhuru who is reported to have told the Naivasha gathering on Monday that Ruto was a traitor as he turned back on BBI process, yet he was part of it.

Sudi told the Star that as far as he is concerned, the initial idea behind the formation of the BBI task force was to preach peace and unite Kenyans after the contested 2017 presidential results.

The MP, a close confidant of the DP, said that along the way, the process was hijacked by Raila and forced Uhuru to signed a memorandum that led to proposal to amend the Constitution.

“When you look at the members of the BBI task force, were they really the experts who can audit the Constitution and propose sections that can be amended? No. As far as we are concerned, the BBI task force made up of elders was to try and unite the country,” he said.

“Uhuru under the captive of Raila changed the terms of the BBI task force . They sneaked in the idea of amending the Constitution and brought on board a secretariat.”

Sudi said if indeed the President was genuine about addressing the issues he is championing through the BBI, he should have done it during his first term. He read malice “in the bullish manner” in which Uhuru is conducting the affairs of the country.

“The 2013 presidential results were contested and there were political tensions. Uhuru never called Raila for talks. Uhuru and Raila have cut a political deal for the President to find his way to power again.

"A sitting President who is serving his second and last term in office and pushing for constitutional changes points to something dangerous,” he said.

Edited by F'Orieny