Politicians should heed warning on reckless talk during BBI meetings

Some Kenyans are concerned, and rightly so, that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process is slowly taking the wrong direction. Besides sideshows — such as walkouts and politicians being shoved out of meetings — early 2022 campaigns and divisive politics have featured in the BBI rallies.

These have unsettled Kenyans, including clerics who have asked that the BBI ship be returned to its course. Three days ago, Christian and Muslim clergymen complained that the initiative had been hijacked by politicians and that they were using it to polarise the country.

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret Dominic Kimengich warned that if political leaders continue to spearhead the process, BBI may not achieve its aim of ending election violence and uniting Kenyans.

“There is nothing bad in the BBI, but it becomes wrong when we see leaders politicising the process and using it as a vehicle to get into power. The problem is the way we are handling the process,” he said.

The sentiments were echoed by Eldoret Chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya chairman Sheikh Abubakar Bini. 

From Vihiga, African Divine Church Archbishop John Chabuga said some ethnic groups feel left out of the BBI and that “if the trend seen in the regional familiarisation meetings continues, it (BBI) will not meet the intended target”.

It is not only clergymen who are appalled by the direction the BBI is taking. Busia Senator Amos Wako, a member of the BBI task force, has also warned that the initiative might “lose its original meaning” if the leaders insist on campaigning. These concerns should be taken seriously.

Undeniably, what is most appealing about the BBI is its architects; President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga’s promise that it will help the country bid goodbye to the ugly spectre of violence that dogs us every election cycle.

It is not a secret that Kenya has lost countless lives during elections since the onset of multiparty politics in 1992. As a result, anyone or anything that promises a cure for this nightmare should be welcomed with open arms.

That is why it is repugnant for some politicians to use the BBI, not to unite Kenyans but to widen ethnic chasms. Indeed, the clergymen are spot on when they warn that BBI might not achieve its goal to heal the country if politicians continue to divide Kenyans.

In addition, reckless talk during BBI rallies could make voters shoot down the noble initiative in case of a referendum. If politicians must campaign and hurl mud at each other, they should organise alternative meetings.

Since majority of politicians have agreed that BBI is good, they should use the initiative’s rallies to preach its goodness and to find ways of enriching it further. If politicians’ mission is to make the initiative unpopular in the eyes of the public, they should just leave the Yusuf Haji-led BBI task force to conclude its work.