NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 25 – The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report is set to be formally unveiled to the public on Monday at the Bomas of Kenya as the debate on the clamour to amend the 2010 constitution gathers momentum.
The unveiling of the report followed its presentation to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his handshake partner Raila Odinga at Kisii State Lodge on Wednesday. The country’s second in command, Deputy President William Ruto, missed the event.
Uhuru and Raila who initiated the process of amending the constitution in March 2018 after burying the political hatchet, have been on overdrive gear drumming up support for the document which they have argued will better Kenya’s political landscape.
“Let’s not politicize life. Politics will come and go but life and the society called Kenya will remain, and we have particular moments in history to look at things that make us not move forward and rectify together and this is such a moment,” President Kenyatta said Wednesday when he received the report from the Senator Yusuf Haji-led BBI task force.
During the Mashujaa day celebrations held in Kisii county on Tuesday, the Head of State made a strong case for the BBI report noting that once its contents are implemented it would entrench inclusivity, equity in the distribution of resources and bring to an end the political tension usually witnessed after every electioneering period.
The duo who made their debut after receiving the report in Kisumu County to popularize the document urged Kenyans and the political class to read the 204-page document and in turn make an informed decision.
During a tour of the lakeside city of Kisumu, the two were categorical that the ‘reggae train’ had left the station and their was no turning back.
The Head of State who previously made low key visits in the region were told a jubilant crowd that “the handshake has given me peace in my heart” and urged the locals not to be left behind in the historical process of unifying the nation.
The report contains recommendations that alter Kenya’s governance structure to a great extent.
Proposed changes include the adoption of a hybrid presidential-parliamentary system under which an elected President appoints a Prime Minister from among members of the majority party in the National Assembly.
The BBI also proposes the appointment of two deputy Prime Ministers and ministers from within the membership of the National Assembly.
