This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
Published on November 12, 2019, Deputy President William Ruto has found a new excuse to oppose the handshake and Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). The Kibra by-election, which was recently concluded, has become a convenient escape route for the DP to distance himself from the Uhuru-Raila project.
Initially, Ruto was opposed to the BBI and the handshake, citing concerns that it would create additional positions for political rejects by expanding the executive. He also accused ODM leader Raila Odinga of using the BBI and the handshake as a backdoor route to power.
However, with the recent Kibra events, Ruto has changed his tune. He now claims that the BBI is a fake project that does nothing to address the country's political ills. He has also called for ODM leader Raila Odinga to apologize to Kenyans for the Kibra violence.
According to the DP, 'We reject politics of conmanship and the use of the handshake to give positions to political rejects. We will make sure that their evil schemes do not succeed,'
The BBI task force, a joint team appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, was tasked with collecting the views of Kenyans on what they wanted changed in the country's leadership structure.
