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Governor Muriithi faults Mt Kenya lawmakers demonizing BBI constitution review process

Speaking to Capital FM News, Muriithi faulted his colleagues accusing them of issuing unnecessary threats particularly since the report is yet to be unveiled to the public/CFM – Moses Muoki

NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 29 – Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi has distanced himself from a section of his colleagues in the Mount Kenya region who have vowed to shoot down the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report once made public if certain “irreducible minimums” would not have been met.

Speaking to Capital FM News, Muriithi faulted his colleagues accusing them of issuing unnecessary threats particularly since the report is yet to be unveiled to the public.

“I have not seen the BBI report, so I cannot genuinely talk about it and I see no reason to jump the gun myself or to threaten. I think we should not run politics by way of threatening, politics should be about persuasion,” he said on Monday during an exclusive interview with this reporter.

More than 30 legislators, who spoke in Parliament buildings last week, threatened to oppose the report if it will favour the creation of the Prime Minister’s position.

The MPs, mostly allies of Ruto, led by Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni vowed to reject any proposal to elect either a Prime Minister or President in Parliament.

While expressing his support for a change of governance in the country notably a shift from the current presidential system of government to a parliamentary one, the first-time Governor said this would enhance accountability but more importantly, the system would foster inclusivity.

He observed that the Council of Governors (CoG) in their ‘Ugatuzi Initiative’ had in fact put so much emphasis on the need for the country to go the parliamentary way insisting it would put an end to the country’s recurring problems that are often occasioned by hotly contested elections.

“We believe the parliamentary system is less threatening. The institution of the presidency sucks the oxygen out of the room and it’s not because that the holder or the people involved are being nasty,” he said.

He stressed that the parliamentary system would also fully enhance devolution noting that CoG had procured the input of constitutional experts to help in fine tuning with the ‘Ugatuzi document’.

He contended that the March 9, 2018 political truce that culminated into a handshake between President Kenyatta and Odinga and consequently birthed the BBI team was “art of political genius from the two leaders”

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“I have not seen the BBI report, so I cannot genuinely talk about it and I see no reason to jump the gun myself or to threaten. I think we should not run politics by way of threatening, politics should be about persuasion,” he said on Monday during an exclusive interview with this reporter/CFM – Moses Muoki

With the political undertones on the debate on BBI gaining momentum each passing day, Muriithi has called for tolerance even as the 14-member task force gears to submit the report to both President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga.

“Let us learn to be tolerant to one another and there is no need to fight over ideas. As a democratic country we should promote a divergence of ideas, we should accept intellectual diversity and that we should accept that your neighbour may have an idea that is useful to Kenyans,” he said.

Murriithi joins leaders who have voiced their support for the BBI report, with National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale over the weekend kicking a storm after he said other minority communities will have a chance to ascend to the country’s leadership which has over the years been dominated by them dominant Kikuyu community.

In a flurry of tweets, the Garissa Township lawmaker had suggested that issues like “tribalism, ethnic violence and inclusivity” would be a thing of the past ostensibly if a recommendation from the BBI team rooting for a change of governance would be fully implemented.

“BBI should recommend a constitutional change from a pure presidential system to a pure parliamentary system so that Kenyans can share the economic resources equally and end political and economic dominance,” he tweeted.

His views were however met with fierce criticism with Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria firing back and accusing him of undermining Central Kenya voters.

According to Kuria, Duale is positioning himself for a post in the presidency 2022, hence, “there is no way he wants any change in the architecture of Presidency as it is.”

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