Youths display a banner bearing the images of President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga during a BBI rally in Mombasa on January 20, 2020.
MOMBASA, Kenya Jan 25 – Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga led a huge BBI political rally in Mombasa, attended by dozens of leaders from all political parties in the country.
Organised by proponents of the Building Bridges Initiative, the meeting was the third popularisation tour in the country after Kisii and Kakamega that were skipped by leaders allied to Deputy President William Ruto who is uncomfortable with the political alliance of Raila and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
BBI is a product of a handshake between President Kenyatta and Odinga in March 2018, when they agreed to burry their differences that resulted from a bitter fall out from a disputed presidential election of 2017 when Odinga lost to Kenyatta.
While Ruto and leaders loyal to him appeared to criticise the initiative, they this week vowed to take part in the meetings, starting with Mombasa where they showed up.
There was brief tension when Majority Leader in the Senate Kipchumba Murkomen, MPs Mohamed Ali, Moses Kuria, Aisha Jumwa and Khatib Mwashetani made their way to Mama Ngina Water Front–the venue of the politically charged meeting on Saturday.
From L to R -Senate Minority Leader James Orengo, Majoriry Leader Kipchumba Murkomen and Nyali MP Mohamed Ali. /CFM.
It took the intervention of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho to plead with the chanting crowd to allow the leaders join, as more leaders from both Kieleweke and Tanga Tanga made their way to the meeting.
Several MPs, Senators, and Governors among them Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), Charity Ngilu (Kitui) and others attended the meeting whose highlight will be an address by Raila.
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