DP Ruto: Finally, BBI verdict brings an end to political conmanship

Deputy President William Ruto has said today’s Supreme Court verdict marks an end to the collapse of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

The Supreme Court dealt a blow to the proponents of the BBI after a seven-judge bench ruled that the quest to change Kenya’s Constitution was not procedural.

Chief Justice Martha Koome said the 2010 Constitution has been “resilient” to survive 21 unsuccessful attempts at changing it. She said 19 of these attempts were through the Parliamentary initiative, while two were through the popular initiative route.

One of the two popular initiative attempts, the court found, was made by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who they ruled does not have the right to initiate constitutional changes using the popular initiative route.

Chief Justice Koome, Justices William Ouko, Isaac Lenaola, Smokin Wanjala, Mohamed Ibrahim in their statements, said the popular initiative route is reserved for Wanjiku and not holders of the offices in the Executive or the Legislature.

“The popular initiative is supposed to be triggered from below; at the initiative of the citizenry, as opposed to representative institutions. A  popular initiative is a means of direct democracy, and indeed, direct democracy can only be exercised by the people and not their representative,” said the Chief Justice.

Ruto in his response said the ruling was a breath of fresh air to the Kenyan people, as it brings to an end political conmanship in the country.

Speaking at a political rally in Wajir, Ruto said the Supreme Court ruling is a win for millions of Kenyans struggling to make ends meet.

The DP maintained the flawed BBI was a fraud aimed at meeting the selfish interests of a few individuals.

“The end of reggae is the end of political conmanship in Kenya. The ruling is a validation that BBI was an illegal and an unconstitutional exercise,” said Ruto.

While tearing into the entire process, Ruto said the country had lost four precious years in a useless exercise that dragged the realisation of the Big Four Agenda.

“The Handshake brothers and the promoters of the BBI must now apologise to Kenyans.”

Ruto was accompanied by Party Leaders Musalia Mudavadi (ANC), Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya), MPs Aden Duale (Garissa Township), Aisha Jumwa (Malindi), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga), Anwar Loitiptip (Lamu), Benjamin Tayari (Kinango), Kithure Kindiki (Tharaka Nithi), and former Governors Issa Timamy (Lamu),

Hussein Dado (Tana River) and Ahmed Ali Mukhtar (Wajir).

He said Kenyans are no longer ignorant to be exploited and misused by those in power.

“Threats, intimidations and coercion cannot transform a country. It is time leaders grew up and competed on the platform of issues,” noted the Deputy President.

Mudavadi in his setiments said Kenyans cannot continue to suffer because of some selfish and greedy individuals.

“Now that BBI is null and void, those responsible for it must be held to account for the resources that were put in that criminal exercise,” he said.

The ANC Party Leader observed that “we cannot have a government that is always experimenting on the people of Kenya”.

He noted that BBI ruling is a lesson to criminal and unlawful trends witnessed in Kenya today.

“Azimio La Umoja is another form of BBI that is consuming government resources through corrupt ways. It must be fought,” he argued