Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen has maintained that the country will not go into a referendum despite the Building Bridges Initiative report gaining momentum.
According to Murkomen, President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is also the Jubilee party leader, had not talked to them about any constitutional change through the BBI but rather talked of the report as an initiative that was going to unite the country.
“I still want to believe that what the president told us was true. Uhuru said that the BBI process was not about changing the constitution, not about elections, not about 2022, but rather about the Big Four Agenda and uniting the country,” stated Murkomen.
Murkomen, who was speaking on Tuesday night at citizen Tv, exhibited his confidence that their party leader was still sticking to his promises and had not changed his stand as insinuated but other leaders who are in the rival party ODM.
“I still stick to the fact that there will be no referendum because I believe President Uhuru Kenyatta will stick to what he said,” added Murkomen.
Murkomen insisted that there were no jitters in the Jubilee government about the BBI because the president had already put all their worries to rest.
“I still stick to the fact that there will be no referendum…” – Kipchumba Murkomen #ThankYouHussein pic.twitter.com/RcIGVZGGQM
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 29, 2019
The senator termed any effort by the BBI to change the constitution as total defiance from what President Uhuru Kenyatta had intended.
He added that in case the report will propose a referendum, then they were going to meet again and seat down as the Jubilee party to make an informed position.
According to Murkome, the BBI had been run in complete violation of Kenya’s constitution saying it has never been a process that involves the people, no accountability but largely based on guesswork.
“The BBI has been run in complete violation of our constitution in the sense that it’s never been a process that involves the people, it has no accountability, everybody is doing guesswork” – Kipchumba Murkomen #ThankYouHussein pic.twitter.com/Lxw5eqr5xP
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 29, 2019
The debate which majorly centered around the yet-to-be-released Building Bridges Initiative report also saw Suba South MP John Mbadi pass a strong warning to Murkomen and others who were opposing the Initiative.
While giving clear indications that the BBI will give birth to a referendum to change the constitution, Mbadi observed that Murkomen and his colleagues were afraid the initiative will work against their selfish political agendas hence the resistance.
John Mbadi on the ‘warning’ they are giving Kipchumba Murkomen and others who are opposing the Building Bridges Initiative. #ThankYouHussein pic.twitter.com/8Fzpgz8CZ8
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 29, 2019
“There are people in this country who are not sure what the BBI is likely to produce and they think whatever BBI is going to produce may work against their selfish political agenda…” communicated John Mbadi
The BBI which is expected to be handed over to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga is expected to give a raft of recommendations on resolving 9 key issues in the country; ethnic antagonism, lack of national ethos, inclusivity, devolution, divisive elections, security, corruption, shared prosperity and responsibility.