This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
Pressure from the West and Competing Interests Delayed BBI Report Release ¶
According to insiders close to the presidency, the head of state was forced to set up a multi-agency team to review the report before it was handed over to him and Raila Odinga.
The team, comprising officials from the Attorney General's Chambers, National Intelligence Service, National Treasury, and the president's legal team, was tasked with identifying missing gaps and the political, economic, and social ramifications of implementing the report.
Uhuru did not want a report that would spark political tension and divisions in the country, and that is why he ordered it to be handed to the multi-agency team for fine-tuning before it would be released to the public.
Some of the recommendations the president viewed as hostile included the reduction of elective seats, adopting a parliamentary system, and scrapping the women representative seat.
The president was also under pressure from the US administration to halt any attempt by the BBI to make it possible for him to sneak back into power as either prime minister or any other influential position.
The Donald Trump administration, which partly funded the BBI operations, is opposed to Uhuru going the Russian way like Vladimir Putin, who has been musical-chairing the presidency with his prime minister.
Uhuru's allies were planning something coded 'KaPutin' where he would come back as prime minister after leaving the presidency in 2022.
Former presidential candidate Martha Karua warned Uhuru not to accept a premiership position after the 2022 elections, terming the move as unconstitutional.
She said the two-term limit set by the 2010 constitution was passed to ensure that no president stays in power for more than 10 years.
As a good friend, I am telling the president to not be tempted to preside over an unconstitutional post. Finish your term, and let somebody else take the mantle,' Karua advised.
Already, Uhuru's backyard of Mount Kenya appears to be opposed to the report.
Gatundu MP Moses Kuria issued conditions for supporting the BBI report, stating he and other concerned Kenyans would only support the report if it fulfilled the objectives he had in mind.
Among them, is an assurance that the person who will wield the executive power, will be directly elected by Kenyans, and holding the referendum alongside the general election.
