Governors initially opposed to BBI make U-turn
Governors initially opposed to the Building Bridges Initiative, (BBI) bill yesterday made a Uturn and vowed to support it on the day county assemblies rushed to pass the bill.
Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana who had initially opposed the bill joined his Machakos counterpart Alfred Mutua and announced that their respective county assemblies would support the bill.
Mutua hosted Kibwana where they jointly chaired a closed-door consultative meeting with about 60 MCAs drawn from the two county assemblies after which they declared they would pass the Bill.
Linda Katiba Prof Kibwana,who is among several national politicians and professionals opposed to the constitutional amendments under the banner of Linda Katiba said he had considered the will of the people of Makueni to allow the Bill to sail through, citing numerous milestones to be realized under the new arrangement.
“You all know that I even went to court to stop the process of amending the constitution but because the majority of the people who elected me have shown willingness to support the document and my vote is just one, I have no choice but to align my wishes to that of the people,” Prof Kibwana said.
Yesterday Dr Mutua said his colleagues under the South Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc (SEKEB) comprising Charity Ngilu (Kitui) and Kibwana had jointly undertaken to promote BBI in the region.
And in Kwale County, governor Salim Mvurya is in an awkward position over the BBI bill. While Mvurya who is a strong Ruto ally supports the initiative, Kwale residents have been reluctant to warm up to the BBI due to campaigns against it by the deputy President and his allies at the Coast.
Kwale have also been poisoned by the anti-BBI campaign being waged by politicians from the county allied to the Deputy President notably, Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga), Benjamin Tayari (Kinango), Owen Baya (Kilifi North) and Paul Katana of Kaloleni.
