BBI gives Kenyans a chance to unite, avoid electoral violence

On Monday, the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti dramatically paraded individuals he claimed to be victims of the 2007/2008 Post-Election Violence at the directorate’s Mazingira House headquarters.

The DCI wanted to “inform” the public that his department had embarked on a mission to seek justice for those who were killed, maimed, displaced or suffered injustice during the hotly contested presidential election between then President Mwai Kibaki and Opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Like many observers, I don’t understand why it has taken the police over a decade to start seeking justice for victims of the post-poll violence. But Mr Kinoti’s latest theatrics have only reminded Kenyans that people fought over a presidential elections result in 2007.

It also served to remind Kenyans that since the reintroduction of multi-party democracy in 1991, no presidential election in Kenya has been done without lives being lost, families displaced and property destroyed.   There have been cases electoral violence in the country during and after all of the six presidential elections held in the country over the last three decades.

And there’s nothing to guarantee us that more people will die in the 2022 elections and after.

Unless we embrace the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) towards a United Kenya taskforce report, the peace may still remain elusive.

The finalisation of the BBI report caused quite a stir among politicians and regular citizens. The final document might not have included every Kenyan’s wish but it fulfils the country’s aspirations. 

One of most interesting piece of information that the taskforce uncovered is that Kenyans are interested in having an executive prime minister position added to the executive, so that voters will have better representation.

President Uhuru Kenyatta saw that the nation was reeling from disharmony after every presidential election. People have felt that the winner takes all system isolates power into the hands of a few while other candidates who lack the majority of the votes gain no voice.

Since the handshake of March 9, 2018, it has been obvious that President Kenyatta has been consulting the former Prime Minister regarding many executive decisions.

The BBI seeks to ensure that winners and losers of future elections can tap on each other’s strengths to move the country forward.

Democracy exists in many forms and is sometimes an imperfect system. Like many postcolonial states, our government is a work in progress. But we are moving towards the best democracy we can.

Another thoughtful inclusion in the report is building a Cabinet comprising both parliamentarians and technocrats. The technocrats running ministries would not need parliamentary approval to avoid “politicisation of the public service.”  

The BBI report indicates that the people’s inclinations are in sync with President Kenyatta’s anti-corruption campaign. The document suggests that elected officials be banned from doing business with the government. Quite often, it occurs here that corrupt officials use their positions to access tenders, get jobs for relatives, or cut deals that benefit them and their close associates.

This cannot be the norm. Elected officials doing business with the government is a breeding ground for corruption.

It also suggests that the wealth of government officials should be open to public scrutiny.

Currently, elected representatives have to declare their wealth every two years. The BBI recommendation should inject transparency into how MPs and other elected leaders amass their wealth.

The goal of devolution has been to increase the power of each county so that leaders can serve their constituents in the best way possible. A fine balance must be struck between national and local governments.

To improve how devolution functions, the BBI suggests that counties are allocated at least 35 per cent of national revenue. This would allow local governments to address their specific needs.

The BBI is a real chance to keep the government’s call for unity.

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