Toxic atmosphere reminds us why BBI was necessary; give it a chance

President Uhuru Kenyatta (left) and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Kenyans will be asked to go to a referendum on a BBI report that is the subject of bitter political contestation.
  • The BBI showdown might well precipitate the final split in Jubilee, if not the collapse of government.
  • We can quibble over how it was an Uhuru-Raila anti-Ruto project rather than a national undertaking.

The impending release of the final version of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report has again brought to the fore the divisive, venal, toxic and potentially violent nature of our politics.

The initiative, launched in March 2018 by President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, worked brilliantly in healing the rifts from the 2017 elections but it then came to open even worse chasms between the duo and Deputy President William Ruto.

Kenyans will be asked to go to a referendum on a BBI report that is the subject of bitter political contestation. With relations between the President and his deputy broken beyond repair, a divided and dysfunctional Jubilee Party and government can hardly be expected to deliver anything through Parliament, leave alone present a united front at the plebiscite.

The BBI showdown might well precipitate the final split in Jubilee, if not the collapse of government. Worse is that it might only be a curtain raiser to the 2022 General Election, which in the pressure cooker environment holds real fears of an explosion of ethno-political conflict that could make 2007-2008 post-election violence seem like a kindergarten romp.

National consensus

Common sense dictates that we hold back on any referendum or any other push to adopt BBI unless we first have something of a national consensus. It would be foolish to think that a combined push from the State machinery, what little remains of President Kenyatta’s political network and Mr Odinga’s opposition forces will ram the BBI proposals down the throats of Kenyans.

Whatever the outcome, a bitterly-contested BBI will only make a bad situation worse and light the fuse towards a 2022 conflagration. But that isn’t what BBI was supposed to be about.

 It was crafted to unite Kenya. It was about finally dealing with the ethnic demons that hold us hostage. It was about healing the wounds of inequality, discrimination, marginalisation and injustice that have festered since Independence.

It was about creating a united, stable, peaceful and prosperous Kenya that all would be proud to belong, protect and defend.

That we are seeing just the opposite exposes that BBI is a monumental failure. Yet, ironically, the divisions we are seeing around the initiative serve as the perfect reminder why BBI was an absolute necessity in the first place.

We are reminded that economic and social disparities, historical injustices, violent contests for power and other ills will remain clear and present dangers unless addressed through a participatory and all-inclusive process — call it BBI or any other name.

So, let’s give BBI a chance. We can quibble over how it was an Uhuru-Raila anti-Ruto project rather than a national undertaking. We can whine over not being given a chance to contribute to it. We have justifiable fears that it was a political adventure designed to create more room at the feeding trough rather than craft honest solutions to our known problems.

A lot of that might be water under the bridge but we still have an opportunity to read the final report and recommendations and judge them on their own merit. Indeed, it would be foolish and myopic to accept or reject the report unread simply because we blindly follow the dictates of political barons who have their own personal interests.

The problem is that there are too many of us who will support the BBI report wholesale just because we are confident that Uhuru and Raila have read it and judged it to be good. On the other side will be another equally vapid constituency with an ear-splitting ‘nyet’ prompted merely by what Dr Ruto dictates.

 For once, let us reject direction from those who are only looking out for their own political interests. Raila and Ruto are political animals. For them, getting one over the other at the pissing contest becomes an end in itself but the rest of us do not need to get wet in the crossfire.

We are the ones who can put politicians in line by approaching BBI as a report worth considering if it goes a substantial way towards meeting the onerous agenda set from inception. Therefore, we must read it and understand it before making judgement. Only after that can we decide whether to accept or reject it outright, or suggest improvements we think will make it meet our expectations.

What we must constantly remind ourselves is that BBI is not about Uhuru, Raila, Ruto or any other politician. It is not about the 2022 elections or about providing room for temporary political marriages. It is about us, and about the very survival of our nation.

[email protected] www.gaitho.co.ke @MachariaGaitho