Insistence on running one-man show derailed BBI train » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 24- Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria now says that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Constitution Amendment Bill was bound to fail because its proponents refused to accommodate divergent views for their own political mileage.

Speaking to Capital FM News on Tuesday, Kuria said few individuals cannot decide when and how the Constitution will be amended on behalf of over 45 million Kenyans without involving them.

“Suppose everybody who is powerful, has the money and influence would wake up one day and decide on behalf of all of us that I will change the Constitution because I mean well for you, then the next guy comes and does the same. Reggae was about someone waking up and deciding they know what is good for Kenyans and they had nothing they could do,” Kuria said.

“I therefore feel grateful to the Judiciary because indeed, those judges were sent by God to stop the BBI reggae.”

A seven-judge bench of the Court of Appeal on Friday upheld the Constitutional Court judgment finding the BBI process illegal and unconstitutional, in a decision set to shift the political landscape with less than a year before the country goes to General Elections.

“The president does not have authority under the constitution to initiate changes to the constitution,” Court of Appeal President Daniel Musinga said.

The court also upheld the decision on the quorum threshold in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission saying the number of commissioners must not fall below 4.

“The amendments proposed by the BBI initiative were so far-reaching in character, scope and content as to shake the foundation and alter the identity and character of the Constitution,” Justice Patrick Kiage said.

While recognizing that not all proposals in the BBI Bill were ‘bad’, Kuria pointed out that some aspects can be passed through a parliamentary initiative if leaders unite and work together regardless of their political affiliations.

“What stops us from increasing the allocation this afternoon to Counties to 35 percent? Nothing really stops us. Just to give it some baptism name of BBI and now we are rushing to say we do it through Parliament. If we really did not want to mask some power grab through BBI, we would have done this, 2 years ago. We have wasted some valuable time,” Kuria said.

The Court of Appeal judgment has attracted mixed political reactions with Deputy President William Ruto who has been against the Bill, saying the judgment was a win-win for the people and an affirmation of the rule of law, and judicial independence. 

“The court decision reaffirms that Kenya is a country governed by the rule of law, not the rule of men, where the Constitution and sovereignty of the people are supreme, and not the political elite. However, no one has won or lost: It is a win-win for the people and the Constitution, I laud the courage of the judges who have bravely defended the Constitution,” Ruto said.

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi, like Kuria, attributed the collapse of the BBI to the failure of its leadership to tolerate divergent views.

Mudavadi, who spoke during a church service in Ngong on Sunday, blamed the BBI proponents led by ODM leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta for refusing to listen to other people’s views and politicizing the push to review the constitution.

“When leaders refuse to listen to each other and make themselves a one-man choir, the consequences are grave. We have spent resources over the last three years, talking about this thing, refusing to listen to each other and making it a one-man thing, and now the court has stopped it,” he said.

The ANC leader further called on leaders to respect each other and create an all-inclusive society that will benefit all Kenyans.