This archive report was first published on 3 October 2019.
Government Spokesperson Rtd Col Cyrus Oguna has come out in defense of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Taskforce, set up by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga, following a scathing attack by Deputy President William Ruto.
Speaking on October 3, 2019, Oguna urged politicians to stop speculating about the report's content, saying that the leadership of the task force was better placed to make clarifications on the progress of their work.
“Since the report has not been publicised, we don’t want to speculate because we don’t know the issues they are considering.The BBI has got a secretariat headed by a team,” he said.
Deputy President Ruto had maintained his stand against plans for a referendum to amend the Constitution, saying that politicians pushing for this were only interested in creating positions for selfish gains.
He warned those crusading for constitutional amendments to prepare to suffer the same fate as the Punguza Mizigo amendment) Bill, 2019, which has so far been rejected by seven county assemblies.
Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary General Francis Atwoli scoffed at politicians opposed to the BBI, warning that failure to embrace it will plunge the country into violence again.
He singled out Deputy President Ruto, accusing him of secretly sponsoring the Ekuru Aukot’s Punguza Mizigo initiative in an attempt to undermine the BBI.
“Kenya will go through turmoil just because some people are happy when others complain that their votes have been stolen,” Mr Atwoli said.
He urged the public to reject the Punguza Mizigo initiative and warned politicians against chest thumping on matters to do with constitutional change.
