Deputy President William Ruto has revealed that the doomed Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) would have given the president dangerous powers.
Speaking during a meeting with leaders from Makueni on August 24, the DP thanked God that the BBI bill flopped.
“If there was a much more dangerous constitutional change, it is the BBI. Because it was going to roll back all the gains we fought for almost 30 years against an imperial presidency,” DP Ruto said.
He explained that the BBI would give the President dangerous powers by allowing him to appoint members of Parliament into the cabinet, something the current constitution abolished.
“The BBI was suggesting that we have a President who controls the legislature through the appointment of MPs into the executive,
“And controls the judiciary through the ombudsman. Let us not lie to ourselves, BBI was dangerous for Kenya and we thank God it failed,” Ruto remarked.
Ruto’s sentiments on giving the president dangerous powers came after Uhuru’s clarification that the BBI was not his do-or-die thing.
“BBI is not personal for me, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. Part of my agenda is to bring people together & maintain a peaceful, stable, united country. The courts have been highly misguided on that process, it is not a competition issue,” he said.
Immediately after the Court of Appeal declared the BBI to be null and void,a judgment previously made by the High Court, William Ruto took to his social media page to celebrate the development, thanking God for the turn of events.
On the other hand, ODM leader Raila Odinga, who was a staunch supporter of BBI asked his team to accept and move on.
“Far from that, we feel that we must now see the forest for the trees, and pursue the bigger goal of setting the rest of the issues facing this country right,
The Building Bridges Initiative was never a destination but a journey in an ever-evolving way of life,” read part of Raila’s statement.
