President Kenyatta addresses Kenyans from State House, Mombasa when he re-organised his Cabinet. /PSCU.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has dismissed claims that there are divisions in Jubilee Party over the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) which is a result of the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
The President downplayed the widening rift in the ruling Jubilee Party which has led to the formation of two factions of Kieleweke team which supports the handshake and the Tangatanga group that is allied to Deputy President William Ruto.
“As far as I am concerned, there is no division. I have made it clear that my main objective is to unite Kenyans; I find it unfortunate that in the process of unifying Kenyans some people feel that they have been left out so therefore I am not for anybody or against anybody,” he told journalists after announcing changes in his Cabinet from State House Mombasa, “I am for the 47 million Kenyans.”
The President reiterated that BBI is not aimed at creating positions for anyone, adding that his agenda is to leave behind a legacy of a united Kenya free of corruption.
“This BBI is not about creating positions for people, it’s about how do we have better governance, how to deal with corruption and creating a feeling of equity so that after every elections we don’t have to fight each other,” he said.
On Monday, the President gazetted the extension of the BBI taskforce team, renaming it United Kenya Taskforce Report which will be led by Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji.
The team unveiled its report at the Bomas of Kenya on November 27 last year, sparking mixed reactions.
While a section of politicians have endorsed the report presented by the Haji team, rival political formations especially those allied to Ruto have differed on its implementation.
On Sunday, Ruto accused the Orange Democratic Movement Party (ODM) of being hypocritical about their agenda on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report in the wake of countrywide political meetings.
He was particularly angered by a meeting in Kisii last week, which was attended by ODM party leader Raila Odinga, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi, Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru among others.
While the leaders said the meeting was part of a series planned across the country to popularise the document, Ruto and his allies see it as a launchpad for Odinga Presidential campaign line-up.
In a tweet, DP Ruto faulted the Raila Odinga-led party accusing it of “hijacking the BBI to craft its 2022 political line up”.
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