Shock ruling a stumbling block as President seeks to define legacy
The ruling by the High Court on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) has put both President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga in a tight corner as they seek to define their legacies.
Uhuru had staked a lot on the process to the extent of slowing down the Big Four agenda plan, while Raila had ventured on the BBI success as his hope to ascend power.
Political analysts are, however, divided on the matter with some saying the judgement had some devastating declarations both on the President and the country as a whole.
According to Prof Karanja Njoroge; a political commentator, all is not lost for Uhuru. Others however think that the ruling will injure his legacy.
“The intentions of both Uhuru and Raila were for the good of the Kenyan people and the ruling should not be allowed to slow down the objective to unite the country,” said Njoroge.
He added: “Uhuru has achieved a lot that his predecessors failed to accomplish.
What inspired Uhuru to come up with the idea of BBI was to de-tribalise politics and allow all to take part,” says Njoroge.
He says former President Daniel Moi tried during his reign to end tribal groupings which divide Kenyans during elections but failed as they regrouped to set up political alliances.
“Moi tried by outlawing the likes of Gema, Kamba Union , Luo Thrift among others, he did not achieve much as the same people formed political parties gravitating along the same tribes,” explains Njoroge.
Lawyer Danston Omari said the only way the head of state can redeem his legacy is by appealing the decree that he was in contravention of Chapter 6 of the Constitution.
“The President is the symbol of national unity and when found in such a situation, where he is said to have violated the supreme law, is an indictment not only to him but even the country,” Omari said.
According to the lawyer, the President might soon find himself in a situation where he is barred from visiting countries like the USA and the UK for having been indicted.
Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu says that all will not be lost even if the BBI does not succeed as the President could still put energy to his Big Four agenda project.
“The BBI is not the only thing that will determine Uhuru’s legacy; he has the option of the Big Four agenda which he can still achieve,” Mulu said.
