This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
Published on November 5, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga are seeking to make governors champions of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.
The initiative aims to reform the country's governance system, but some leaders have expressed concerns over the proposed changes, particularly the potential shift from a presidential system to a parliamentary one.
Legislators from the Mount Kenya region have already voiced their opposition to any proposal that would drop the presidential system, citing the need to maintain the one man, one vote rule.
However, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has insisted that a parliamentary system is the best way forward, suggesting that a "One Kilometre, One Vote" model could be adopted due to the size of northern Kenya's electoral units.
"Kenyans have worked with the presidential system since independence. We have reached a stage in which the system only produces a personality cult and encourages ethnicity," Mr Duale said.
President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga are concerned by the rising political temperatures even before the report is made public, with multiple insiders revealing that they are seeking to capitalise on governors' influence and financial power to rally Kenyans behind the initiative.
According to a Jubilee insider, the two leaders have reached out to governors through their emissaries, seeking support for the BBI initiative.
ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuna has stated that they are ready to work with governors to champion the BBI initiative, while Jubilee secretary-general Raphael Tuju has called for restraint on the debate until the report is made public.
