After BBI ruling, Uhuru in dilemma over pledges to Mt Kenya

On January 29, President Uhuru Kenyatta embarked on a three-day offensive in his Mt Kenya political backyard, meeting elected politicians, young people, women and leaders in business, religious and social circles.

In the public meetings, his message was uniform and clear: he would assert his political authority in the region so that even after he retires the region’s people could benefit from whoever ascends to the presidency through the constitutional changes he is championing with Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga.

In the meetings, Mr Kenyatta’s speeches were punctuated by an impassioned clamour for support for the Building Bridges Initiative, rallying the region to support the proposals and saying they would safeguard his region and the country economically and politically.

“It is my intention that as I leave office the people of Mt Kenya are in a better place politically and economically than I found them. Be wary of those coming to badmouth me and asking you to reject the BBI, which has good proposals for this region. Ask them what they are offering instead,” he said.

But after Friday’s Court of Appeal judgment that the BBI or Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was illegal, President Kenyatta now finds himself in a catch-22 situation.

String of losses

The President is already smarting from a string of losses in parliamentary and ward by-elections in Mt Kenya less than a year to the next General Election.

The BBI had proposed counties in Mt Kenya get 15 more constituencies out of the proposed 70. The region would also indirectly benefit from 18 other constituencies earmarked for Nairobi, Nakuru and Laikipia, referred to as the “diaspora” counties of Mt Kenya.

The bill also proposed one man, one shilling, one vote to address concerns about revenue sharing, with those in populous regions gaining more. This would avoid a situation where a densely populated area like Mt Kenya was getting a raw deal in budgetary allocations and public recruitment.

The judgment has also revived hopes of restoring unity in the Mt Kenya region as politicians scramble to secure the region’s “lost” benefits.

Mt Kenya leaders who supported the BBI said any presidential candidate interested in the region’s support must guarantee economic prosperity given its huge numbers.

Region’s needs

This has seen politicians from the region try to unite and identify a presidential candidate who is ready to give priority to the region’s needs.

Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said following the Court of Appeal decision on BBI that the 2022 Mt Kenya political and economic expectations have just been defined.

“To get the Mt Kenya vote one must now guarantee that their government will deliver what BBI was meant to deliver to us: one man, one vote, one shilling, devolution of more resources and presence in government,” Mr Wambugu said.

The Service Party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri said the region’s budgetary allocations do not match the revenues it generates nationally.

He lamented that efforts to have equal allocation of resources were met with opposition from leaders from other regions in the Senate and National Assembly.

Presidential candidate

Mr Kiunjuri vowed that, given the fall of BBI, the region will be careful about which presidential candidate it supports.

“We shall not go to the 2022 polls blindly. We shall negotiate with all the presidential candidates and find out the plans they have for the region,” he said.

“We shall support a presidential candidate who will be ready to defend our interests and ensure we receive our rightful resources and adequate representation in the National Assembly.”

Former Kirinyaga senator Daniel Karaba said leaders from the region would not relent on demanding what is rightful for the region economically.

“What we want is the national resources to be divided on the basis of one man, one shilling, one vote. That way we shall have sufficient funds to develop our region,” he said.

Ruto’s allies

But Deputy President William Ruto’s allies from the region declared they had earlier fired a warning shot against BBI that, if it had been heeded, would have spared the President the political embarrassment he is facing.

Murang'a Senator Irungu Kang'ata said the court ruling on BBI confirmed that President Kenyatta bought a lie in the Handshake politics.

“When I attempted to warn him that he would burn his political fingers in it, he ignored. The President was dragged into the lie of amending the Constitution by ODM politicians. We hope that it has dawned on Kenyans that we cannot go against the grain and our institutions,” he said.

Kandara MP Alice Wahome said BBI had no good intentions for the country.

“The BBI was a fraudulent way to hold on to power where deceit was the driver in suggesting that Kenyans approved the scheme,” she said.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi urged BBI proponents to now focus on reviving the economy because the BBI reggae had stopped.

He underscored the need to restore unity so that all Kenyans can participate in nation building.

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Additional reporting by George Munene