Laikipia Woman Representative Catherine Waruguru has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to step in and salvage BBI.
Speaking to the Star on Wednesday, she said the initiative is facing myriad challenges.
Waruguru said while she supports the Building Bridges Initiative, residents of Mt Kenya region have resisted it.
She said as a supporter of the President and his government, she has a duty to tell him the truth.
“There is poor reception among the people of Mt Kenya. We are losing it from the manner in which the provincial administration was used to collect signatures to the manner in which it is being marketed,” she said on the phone.
“It is the truth, some people should not divert attention by catching feelings. If there are problems with BBI, the buck stops the President.”
Waruguru, who quit Deputy President William Ruto’s camp last year, said residents of Central have raised concerns over the timing of the proposed changes to the 2010 Constitution.
She defended Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata, saying the concerns raised in his letter to the President “are real and genuine”.
“I am in support of what Kang’ata said. Those who want to listen should heed to what he has written and address them. I want to state that BBI bill is not popular,” the Woman Rep said.
“If we are to proceed with BBI, we must then sit down and agree on how we are going to sell it. Kang’ata is just but a messenger.”
The vocal and straight-talking legislator told off National Assembly Majority leader Amos Kimunya for terming Kang’ata naïve.
Waruguru said Kimunya has failed and is just concerned with looking good before the President.
Image: DENNIS DIBONDO
“The President has a short period left. If the BBI referendum fails, the President will not have time to recover. Therefore Kimunya should relax and respect the issues that have been raised . He should move away from personal vendetta,” she said.
“If they doubt the issues raised, which capture a true reflection of what is happening, they can commission a scientific opinion poll. We have the National Intelligence Service, which knows how the country behaves and reacts to government policies.”
Waruguru said Ruto has made inroads in the region “and his word is taken as the gospel truth”.
“Ruto has managed to brainwash them. What he tells them is taken for the true position,” she said.
Ruto’s allies have said the proposed referendum will not only fail in the Mt Kenya region but across the entire country.
They have urged Uhuru to shelve the proposed BBI referendum, saying it is unpopular.
They said attempts to force a referendum “will lead to him suffering a terrible loss and embarrassment”.
They also distanced Ruto from Kang’ata’s letter, which was addressed to the President and warned that BBI is facing resistance in Central.
Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki said Kenyans have pressing issues to deal with and do not wish to be bogged down with unnecessary constitutional changes.
The former Senate Deputy Speaker said the country is not in a constitutional moment as claimed by Uhuru to warrant the amendments.
He said the President should just finish his term and retire from politics.
“The only people who say BBI will sail through are lying to themselves and have refused to listen to the voices of Kenyans. The BBI project and it’s proposed referendum have near-zero support not just in Central Kenya but all over the country,” Kindiki told the Star on the phone.
“Voters feel that they have been taken for granted for far too long. The sellers of BBI have a difficult time ahead hawking it to a tired and hurting country.”
He criticised the 10 Mt Kenya governors who on Monday disputed the concerns raised by Kang’ata.
“Those governors from Mt Kenya counties are the ones misleading the President, for their own selfish reasons. BBI will not sell no matter what. This is a project that was conceived with ill intentions of settling political scores, and the people across the country appear to have decided to reject it since they never asked for it in the first place,” Kindiki said.
Meru Senator Mithika Linturi defended Kang’ata, saying he told the President what some of his supporters have been trying to tell him in vain.
“I want to thank Kang’ata for notifying the President about the real issues concerning BBI in this region of Mt Kenya. I also want at the same time to ask the President to listen to Kang’ata’s voice,” he said in a press statement on Tuesday.
“We said it before, he closed his ears, we have been trying to address him through the media and other forums, including Parliament, but in most cases what we see is a serious reaction by a way of force, intimidation and by all manner of things that are intended to suppress the freedom of expression of the people elected to represent the public in Parliament.”
Linturi said Kang’ata spoke on behalf of the majority of Kenyans and the President has no option but to listen to the voice of Kenyans.
“If there is a way that can be done to save BBI if that is your intention and that is what you are persuaded will bring lasting peace in this country and having been your supporter, listen to what the people are saying,” he said.
Soy MP Caleb Kositany said the President “found himself in the mess for allowing political brokers who are beyond sell date to advise him”.
He said the President should take seriously reports being submitted to him every day by the NIS on the state of the country as far as the BBI referendum is concerned.
“The NIS gives Uhuru reports every morning showing that BBI is unpopular but because he has opted for advice from some old men who have lost touch with Kenyans, he has chosen not to listen to anything else but BBI chorus,” Kositany told the Star.
“The DP has nothing to do with Kang’ata’s letter and the people linking it to the DP are the same people who have failed the President. Uhuru should search his soul and take time to listen to what Kenyans are saying or else he will be embarrassed.”