You can meddle or buy votes but you can’t buy legitimacy
A supporter of the Building Bridges Initiative report appends his signature in Eldoret town.
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) is one process that has brought up many divergent views. Regardless of what is happening on the ground, the fact is that Kenya will remain whether the BBI is passed or not. The question is what kind of a country will be left after the process.
Our country has had a tumultuous past with voting. It is no longer enough that someone wins; how they win matters more. Was the process free, fair and transparent? These are questions whose answers have seen us slaughter one another.
The other reason we should be very keen to have a democratic process is because it gives the results legitimacy. A person can buy votes, or interfere with the voting process, but one can never buy legitimacy.
Deep down everybody knows what happened. This is like the case of pastors who come to preach one thing on Sunday but during the week they do the opposite. Which leads to their flock never believing a word they say.
But, unlike matters of faith, a constitutional process is not one that can be joked about. It is a matter of life and death.
And with the latest World Bank report showing that more than two million Kenyans have become poor due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, our problems as citizens are endless. It was our hope that the government will focus on the economy and our wellbeing.
But, as their focus is on the BBI, we ask that they carry out their object of priority in a way that does not leave the country worse off: That our say be respected.
That we be accorded the option of saying yes or no without implications on our livelihoods and safety. That the process be held sacred and carried out in a manner that is above reproach.
