This archive report was first published on 6 November 2019.
November 6, 2019, marked a fortnight since the Building Bridges Initiative Task Force announced that its report was ready, awaiting an opportune time to deliver it. The delay has sparked growing apprehension, with observers concluding that President Kenyatta's frequent foreign travels are designed to avoid the report.
President Kenyatta was in Russia at the time, and his absence was cited as a convenient excuse. Pundits argue that if BBI was as important as advertised for building national cohesion and guaranteeing sustainable peace, security, and nationhood, Uhuru and Raila would have made it a priority to receive the report and implement its recommendations.
That they have not been available has fueled suspicion that one, or both, of them are not happy with the report's recommendations. A close analysis reveals that they may not be on the same page regarding prescriptions, with Raila advocating for a major realignment of the national leadership structure to reintroduce the position of Prime Minister as Head of Government.
Uhuru, on the other hand, has backed the BBI without specifying his positions or demands that might pre-empt receipt of the report. He has never talked of going back to a parliamentary system of government or uttered support for a referendum. The ODM party made detailed proposals to the BBI hearings, but President Kenyatta's Jubilee party did not make an appearance.
