Machakos governor Alfred Mutua (left) and his Makueni counterpart Kivutha Kibwana during a meeting with MCAs from their respective county assemblies. [Erastus Mulwa, Standard]

Makueni Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana, who among a section of politicians and constitutional experts opposed to the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2020 under the banner of Linda Katiba has abandoned his stand and supported the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

Today, Prof Kibwana led about 25 MCAs drawn from the Makueni County Assembly to a closed door meeting with 33 of their Machakos counterparts hosted by Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua.

In the meeting, a declaration was made to have the Bill passed unanimously when presented before the two assemblies tomorrow.

Prof Kibwana said although he had several issues against the proposed amendments to the supreme law, as an individual, he decided to review his decision based on the will of the majority of Makueni residents, who through public participation forums, endorsed BBI.

“You all know that I even went to court to stop the process of amending the constitution but because the majority of the people who elected me have shown willingness to support the document and my vote is just one, I have no choice but to align my wishes to that of the people,” Prof Kibwana said.

In rejecting the proposed amendments to the constitution, Kibwana had argued that the constitution as it was still a good document and that any changes would best be introduced after the next general election in order to avoid political manipulation.

However, he made it clear that the support of BBI in Makueni was a citizen-driven process and not sycophantic obedience to certain political godfathers.

“Makueni residents were particularly impressed by the proposed 35 percent revenue allocation to counties, which they felt will double up development projects if managed properly by the subsequent county governments,” said Prof Kibwana.

The governor said he and his colleagues under the South Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc (SEKEB), Dr Alfred Mutua (Machakos) and Charity Ngilu (Kitui) had exhaustively pursued the interests of their electorate aimed at transforming the social, economic and political fortunes of the people.

He said as the elected leaders in the region, the three governors were serious about ensuring Ukambani residents got the best they deserved in terms of development and economic transformation.