Battle lines drawn as Isiolo senator, woman rep split over BBI

The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and the hustler versus dynasty politics has split Isiolo County down the middle with battle lines drawn between leaders supporting it and those opposing it.

Largely affected is the comradeship between five Isiolo MPs — who have been ardent critics of Governor Mohamed Kuti’s administration — which now threatens their 2022 political ambitions.

Senator Fatuma Dullo, Isiolo North MP Hassan Odha and Nominated Senator Abshiro Halake are supporting the proposed constitutional amendments that will, among other things, scrap the woman rep’s seat and increase allocation to the counties while Woman Rep Rehema Jaldesa is opposed to the report.

The BBI politics is likely to create new alignments with the three MPs supporting it expected to team up with Governor Kuti, whose administration they have been criticising. This will in turn influence the forthcoming 2022 General Elections.

But what is likely to divide Isiolo residents is the rocky relationship between Ms Dullo and Ms Jaldesa, who have been close to each other and whose past unity and continued reproach against the county government over poor development was giving Governor Kuti sleepless nights.

Fight for senator’s seat

According to sources, differences between the two have emerged because they could now battle it out for the senator’s seat in 2022 should the BBI report be passed.

Ms Jaldesa, an ally of Deputy President William Ruto, has several times insisted that she would not support the proposed amendments to remove the woman rep’s seat and that having both male and female senators would “make women fight”.

On her part, Ms Dullo, the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, is confident the BBI will ensure inclusivity and empower devolution through increased allocation to the counties from 15 per cent to 35 per cent.

The row that has been simmering in private came out in public when Ms Jaldesa took a swipe at the senator for reportedly disregarding the DP Ruto’s wheelbarrow narrative and for claiming that the deputy president had done nothing for Isiolo people.

Ms Jaldesa told off the senator for being ungrateful to the deputy president on whose party she was first nominated before being elected on a PDR ticket in 2017.

“We have forgiven you once but if you repeat the attack on DP Ruto, we will show you the music,” Ms Jaldesa said while distributing tents, plastic chairs and shoe shiner shades among other items to women and youth groups in Isiolo town.

“We love you but respect the wheelbarrow movement,” she told Ms Dullo.

Senator Dullo did not respond when Nation reached out to her for comment.

Ms Jaldesa also took a swipe at ODM leader Raila Odinga for saying that the wheelbarrow politics is outdated, telling saying the former prime minister to at least appreciate the good work the deputy president is doing.

Bloated wage bill

She declared war on pro-BBI leaders in Isiolo, whom she accused of misleading the public, noting that increased constituencies would result to a bloated wage bill which will consequently burden Kenyans who are the taxpayers.

She said the hustler team is committed to involving Kenyans from the grassroots to the national level in line with its inclusivity ideology.

“We will support the deputy president and push the wheelbarrow to State House in 2022. BBI Reggae must stop like it happened in Meru,” she insisited.

Accompanied by MP Odha, Ms Jaldesa asked the legislator to join the hustler team, assuring him of good prospects in future.

Mr Odha said he will support the constitutional amendments if allocation to counties is not reduced or the woman rep’s seat scrapped.

“I have not boarded the wheelbarrow and have no issues with the ideology. If BBI scraps the woman rep seat and reduces equitable share to the counties, I will not support it,” the first time MP said.

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