Musalia Mudavadi calls for inclusivity in BBI pact

Musalia Mudavadi during a tour of Mudavadi Market in Nyeri town yesterday. [Allan Mungai, Standard]

Politician Musalia Mudavadi has called for inclusivity in the rolling out of an initiative that aims to create a united Kenya.

The Amani National Congress (ANC) leader yesterday said President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga should stop acting as if the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was the exclusive responsibility of two people.

“They must strive to do away with the perception that the BBI was an agenda between the two leaders; it must be seen to be national and more so to carry the hopes of the whole country,” Mr Mudavadi said.

Uhuru and Raila came up with the initiative following their famous handshake at Nairobi's Harambee House on March 9 last year.

Mudavadi said the initiative ought to accommodate all Kenyans to address what ailed the country, "the fiercely exclusivity politics where the winner takes it all".

The ANC leader, speaking after a church service at Our Lady of Consolata Catholic Cathedral in Nyeri, said as things stood, "all indications are that the country hasn't moved an inch from the precipice".

He wondered what would happen to the deal if either Raila or Uhuru decided to pull out, bearing in mind the process was not structured or anchored in law.

Mudavadi said the BBI should have been structured like the Bomas of Kenya draft constitution, "which was all inclusive but was sacrificed at the altar of political expediency."

“People should look and see how inclusive the draft was. It brought religious leaders, women, youth and political leaders, and other stakeholders on board. The initiative should have adopted a similar structures."

On the forthcoming population census, Mudavadi said Kenyans were looking forward to an exercise managed through bio-metric technology to stem cases of cheating.