Allies of Deputy President William Ruto were yesterday forced to watch silently from their seats during the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) rally in Kitui.
Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen, Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot and Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria arrived at Kitui Stadium where the event was being held but soon realised they were unwelcome guests.
As Murkomen and Cheruiyot squeezed themselves at the back rows of the main dais, Kuria was frogmarched out after creating a commotion. In the process, host Governor Charity Ngilu, cheered on by her Kiambu counterpart James Nyoro, lost her cool.
“Nobody will abuse President Kenyatta and come to my meeting. Atolewe, atolewe kabisa (Let him be removed!),” Ngilu ordered as Kuria was pushed out.
Proposed resolutions
Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana was reading the region’s proposed resolutions of the BBI when the incident happened. Kuria was later allowed back at the intervention of ODM leader Raila Odinga and his Wiper counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka.
The DP’s allies were only introduced by name and told to wave at the crowd.
A buoyant Raila likened the BBI to a train that had left the station.
“If you are outside the train it’s up to you. The train must complete its journey,” Raila said as he delivered President Kenyatta’s greetings.
Kalonzo made it clear that the BBI meeting in his home county sought to show a united front of the Kamba leaders, adding that political bickering and divisions needed to end.
He said the Kamba community must push for its interests while united.
“The community is united behind BBI. There is no competition on this,” Kalonzo said.
The Wiper leader praised the president for showing a resolve to fight corruption, describing it as a bare knuckle fight. “The fight against corruption has gained traction. The corrupt must not be spared. We support the president on that,” said Kalonzo.
He warned that the BBI debate and rallies across the country should not be used to divide Kenyans.
Leaders who spoke appealed to the Kamba community to support the initiative touted as the solution for the country’s leadership crisis, crumbling economy and joblessness.
From the onset, the meeting appeared mired in drama and suspicion as warring political camps sought to outsmart each other.
Earlier, there appeared to be confusion on the running of the day’s programme, with Ngilu’s camp fearful that the Wiper brigade would hijack the event and make it a launch pad for Kalonzo’s 2022 presidential ambition.
Being the coordinator of BBI in Lower Eastern region, Ngilu wanted to be the one fully in charge.
There were strong sentiments within Ngilu’s side that the event was purely a BBI affair and that Raila was to be accorded maximum respect as one of the architects of the handshake that gave birth to the initiative.
The Wiper camp, on the other hand, wanted to run the show, insisting that the event was being held in a Wiper zone and its leaders must speak.
This led to confusion that saw Ngilu at one time cut short the master of ceremonies, Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu, and introduce Governor Kibwana to read the region’s proposed resolutions for the BBI.
Kibwana, who spoke on behalf of Ukambani governors, said their support for the BBI was unequivocal.
“When you see all of us here it is a testimony that BBI is on the homestretch,” he said.
The proposed resolutions he presented for lower Eastern region included the creation of a powerful prime minister post and two deputies, with gender balance at the top leadership.
Others proposed by the Ukambani governors are socioeconomic support for the region through actualisation of Konza techno city and exploitation of key mineral resources found in the region such as coal and iron ore.
Food security
The governors also want farmers from the region safeguarded from the vagaries of weather such as droughts and aflatoxin in case of bumper harvests to ensure food security.
They have also proposed a split of the vast Kitui County into two to have Mwingi region as a county. The document was handed to Rose Museo, a member of the BBI task force and Raila.
Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli said the current Constitution needed to be amended to right past wrongs.
He proposed disbandment of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), saying the matter of pay should be an agreement between an employer and employee.
He also called for an expanded executive to create a unified country.
After the event, Senator Cheruiyot weighed in on the events of the day on social media: “Moses Kuria has made his contribution. Make yours no matter what they bring your way. Thank you Kitui for ensuring we were allowed in despite attempts by governor Charity Ngilu to set up goons on us.”
