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Kalonzo: BBI not a contest between Ruto and Raila

Kalonzo at BBI secretariat

Senate minority whip Mutula Kilonzo Jr, BBI Secretariat co-chair Dennis Waweru and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka at the secretariat on December 1, 2020.

Photo credit: Justus Ochieng | Nation Media Group

By  Justus Ochieng'

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has told Kenyans not to misconstrue the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) drive as a contest between Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

Mr Musyoka said this on Tuesday while asking the public to support the BBI signature collection process and implementation of the Bill as the initiative promises to better their lives.

He said the document is bigger than himself, Dr Ruto, Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta and that Kenyans should concentrate on its contents, and endorse it for its benefits to them.

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“The BBI is the future of our country. Let us not compartmentalise this debate,” he said at the BBI Secretariat on Tuesday, where he led a section of Wiper leaders in appending signatures in support of the Bill.

National issue

The former Vice President, who was out of the country when the President and Mr Odinga launched the signature collection at the KICC in Nairobi County last week, said "the ship had already left the dock".

“The BBI is no longer the business of Uhuru Kenyatta as President or Raila Odinga as former Prime Minister. This document belongs to Kenyans so we should defend it," he said.

The Wiper leader was accompanied by Senate minority whip Mutula Kilonzo Jr, MPs Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragwa) and Kanini Kega (Kieini), Nasa Secretariat’s co-chairman Dennis Waweru and a host of leaders from the Ukambani region.

Mr Waweru said their  target was at least 2 million signatures by close of business Tuesday.

Petty rivalries

While noting that petty rivalries and divisions should be quashed in this season, Mr Musyoka said he and like-minded leaders will attend town hall meetings to drum up support for the initiative.

“We don’t have all to be together because of Covid-19. I can go with [Amani National Congress leader] Musalia [Mudavadi], [Ford-Kenya leader Moses] Wetang’ula and [Mombasa Governor Hassan] Joho," he said.

He said nobody should allege mischief should leaders unite to popularise the BBI. 

“As we go to town hall meetings to popularise this document, please do not put on a straitjacket," he said.

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