Courts and Covid-19 sent BBI on halftime – Raila
ODM party leader Raila Odinga has vowed that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) is still on even after the High Court declared the process to change the constitution as null and void.
Raila who popularized the clamor for political change by referring to BBI as reggae was speaking during the funeral ceremony of David Waweru, the father of Richard Ngatia, President of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"Siongei leo menono ya BBI kwasababu leo iko mahakamani. Mahakama na Corona imefanya BBI ikaenda half time," Raila said on Tuesday, eliciting peals of laughter and murmurs from the congregation.
Before making the remarks on BBI, Raila gave the mourners a brief history of Kangemi which is the late Waweru's ancestral home.
"In London, there are people known as Cockney, when they speak, you might not understand their language. In Tanzania, Darsalam, they are known as Wazaramu," Raila said while referring to the original residents of Kangemi whom the late Waweru was part off.
The ODM leader then made reference to urbanization pointing out that Westlands MP, Tim Wanyonyi is originally from Western Kenya yet he now represents the metropolis constituency at the National Assembly.
"The area MP is from Western. The Member of County Assembly is from Nyanza. Now this place is Tanganyika. After the colonial government left, slums came up. From Kibira, Mukuru Kwa Njenga to Mathare." Raila said before he singled out one of President Uhuru Kenyatta's flag projects.
"It's because of the slums that President Uhuru came up with the affordable housing project. We wanted to give the indigenous people of Nairobi a home. Their own constituencies. That is why we brought BBI. So that we add 22 more constituencies in Nairobi," Raila said.
Also known as Wakamau, Waweru was an accountant and laboratory technologist. The late served as a researcher at the East African Industrial Research and Development Institute currently known Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI).
He joined the University of Nairobi in 1977 where he served as a Chief Technologist until his retirement in 1997.
In his message of condolences to Waweru's family, President Uhuru said: "The people of Gichagi have lost a robust and dependable leader and elder whose wise counsel promoted harmony in the community."
