Ruto team gets new energy in bid to fight Handshake
The shocking ruling by the High Court that nullified the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process seems to have given Deputy President (DP) William Ruto and his Tanga tanga team, new ammunition with which to fight the Handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM chief Raila Odinga.
Declaration by the five-judge bench has emboldened the DP and his anti-BBI forces, who now say their focus is on the 2022 campaign strategies.
The Ruto team has been buoyant that the damning ruling principally answered to the issues raised by the DP. Ruto has been consistent in his attack on BBI, which seem to have escalated differences between him and President Uhuru.
His lieutenants say although the DP was not part of the cases in court, he was in support of them all along.
“We were in support of the petitions, even if not physically present we played our part in other ways,” said Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua.
Openly celebrated
The DP has openly celebrated the court’s decision and has been consistent in throwing barbs at the proponents of the BBI, terming the judges’ move as God’s miracle.
“There is God in heaven who loves Kenya immeasurably. May God’s name be praised forever,” Ruto tweeted on Thursday night.
During a campaign rally in Nyandarua county for the Rurii ward by-election, Ruto who spoke via Gachagua’s cell phone told the crowd that the ruling was a win for Wanjiku.
Ruto has been a strong critic of the BBI since its initiation; terming it an affair of two people to coerce citizens to support changes to the Constitution. According to Ruto, BBI intention was to expand the Executive to create positions for the so-called “dynasties”.
In the proposals, the proponents wanted to introduce a number of positions, including that of the Prime Minister and two deputies.
But in their ruling, the judges said the multi-choice idea was the most viable in a democratic referendum.
