Amani National Congress party leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetang’ula have united to oppose meetings to popularise the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.
They have vowed not to attend next weekend’s BBI meeting at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega saying they were not involved by the organisers.
“There are some people who think they have a right to speak on every matter in the country on behalf of others. We want to tell them they are grossly mistaken. Every voice in this country matters and should be respected,” Mudavadi said.
“If by not attending the meeting at Bukhungu for not being involved in its organisation deems us as enemies, so be it. As a community, we must know where we are going as a whole. We cannot continue being someone else’s followers forever,” he added.
The ANC leader added, “We want people to build consensus. The Constitution we have was voted for by 67 per cent of the people. If we want to go forward, the BBI must be used to build consensus and not for politicians positioning themselves for 2022.”
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Lose the intended aim
The leaders dismissed claims that they are against the BBI report and urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to gazette the task force so that it can release the programme. They said if the report is left to leaders who have started organising political meetings it will lose the intended aim of uniting the country.
“All of us at Bomas agreed we will support the report but gave it to experts who were to advise which sections needed to be rectified. The report should be looked into by all Kenyans keenly. Let us not create enmity because of it,” Mr Mudavadi said.
He added, “The report should not be used to generate tensions among communities. The intimidation to join BBI mobilisation meetings should stop. If indeed BBI is supposed to bring us together, let it do so without coercion.”
The leaders spoke at Kegoye in Vihiga County, where they attended a burial service for Jane Chunguli. They were accompanied by Vihiga MP Ernest Ogesi and his Sabatia counterpart Alfred Agoi.
Mudavadi noted there are some politicians who have started making fictitious enemies around the BBI report while making it an avenue for sharing seats in the country for 2022.
“What we should be focusing on more now is the rebuilding of our economy that is weighing down on many Kenyans. My stand has not changed,” he said.
Wetang’ula faulted planned meetings to popularise BBI across the country.
He said they have not even seen the final question for BBI yet some people have started making enemies because of this.
The Bungoma Senator explained that leaders want to see gazettement of the extended period of the taskforce so they can know what was not exhaustively tackled in the report.
Wetang’ula called for circulation of the document for people to read and make informed decisions.
Mudavadi and the Ford Kenya leader said they are united and will give Western region the way forward.
“Some people see us together, even using the same vehicle yet they are asking us when we will unite. We know what we are doing and we will give the region the best among us to lead the way,” he said.
