A section of Muslims in Mombasa has denied claims they submitted views to the Building Bridges Initiative secretariat late.
Led by Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims deputy chair Muhdhar Khitamy, they said their submissions were timely but were ignored.
“Muslims were the first to air their views,” Khitamy said at Fort Jesus in Mombasa on Tuesday.
“We have evidence to show that in August 2019, we presented a memorandum from the Muslims. A very comprehensive document,” Khitamy said.
On Sunday, ODM leader Raila Odinga met with some Muslim leaders led by Kenya Muslims National Advisory Council chairman Sheikh Juma Ngao. They had a memorandum they wanted to present to President Uhuru Kenyatta via Raila.
Asked whether there still is room to accommodate other voices in the BBI, Raila said there is no time for fresh ideas.
“Right now, as you know, the document is out. We have started already the journey. At this moment in time it is late to accommodate fresh views,” Raila said aboard the Tamarind Dhow.
Sheikh Ngao had presented to Raila a 28-point memorandum with issues that they wanted included in the BBI document.
However, Raila said some of the issues contained in the memorandum had already been captured in the BBI.
On Tuesday, Khitamy said Muslims who presented their views to the BBI secretariat in August 2019 were ignored.
He said the BBI process is trying to paper over cracks which are widening by the day and will soon cause the whole house to collapse.
Khitamy said the rush to make people sign for the BBI referendum yet they have not read and understood the document is suspect.
“A person selling ice knows nothing about the BBI, why do you want to force him to sign? Do civic education first,” Khitamy said.
He said Supkem is ready to sit down with the BBI secretariat and iron out contentious issues.
The Muslim leaders said the timing of the BBI is wrong amid the Covid-19-enforced economic crisis not only in the country but also across the globe.
The BBI, Khitamy said, wants to create an imperial president who has powers to hire and fire, the exact thing that Kenyans have been fighting to do away with.
“We are not ready for BBI. It is poison to us,” the cleric said.
The 2010 Constitution is okay as it is and only needs minor amendments, he said.
Ahmed Awadh said the BBI project is a scam. “They said it contains all people’s views but this is not true. The pastoralist communities’ views and those of Muslims were not captured,” Awadh said.
He said the BBI process will only increase the already ballooning wage bill by increasing the number of MPs and senators.
