BBI enters new phase as Haji team exits scene

Anticipation is rising over what is coming next after the BBI Steering Committee exits the stage following completion of their term yesterday. In a press statement signed by the joint secretaries, the 15-member Committee indicated that the primary assignment was now complete and the report ready for submission to the Head of State. ”The Steering Committee is now prepared to submit the comprehensive advice to the Government in line with the indicated times and venues, subject to the ongoing unexpected regulations on the prevention of COVID-19 infection. It has communicated the completion of the assignment to the Executive Office of the President”, the statement read in part.

The BBI process was set in motion following the March 2018 handshake which aimed at cooling political temperatures and uniting a deeply polarised nation following the 2017 elections. The historic event resulted in an unprecedented turnaround within our political infrastructure, with a previously wild opposition metamorphosing into a tame outfit ‘ready to support the President’s agenda’. Cracks started showing on a previously solid bromance between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. 845 days after the now (in)famous handshake, the DP who was the most obvious heir apparent to President Kenyatta, has transformed into an apparent outsider in a government which he was a co-president during the first term.

As the Haji team now leaves the stage, all eyes are set on what the content of the report. Already, Ruto allies have started changing their tune after months of threatening to frustrate the push for a referendum. In a report published on the Daily Nation, it has emerged that many of the said allies have now come out in support of an expanded Executive, saying that such an arrangement will benefit Ruto in his bid for presidency come 2022. ”The DP is likely to benefit from an expanded Executive because he will be in a position to reach out to more leaders to build a coalition together to share responsibilities bolstering his State House bid”, indicated Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa.

”As Team Tangatanga, we have no problem with the creation of many positions. However, either the Presidency or the PM’s seat must be elective”, reiterated Keiyo South MP Daniel Rono who went on to say, ”The DP is okay with what will be unveiled. It is his wish to manage this country with like-minded leaders”.

The DP has been on a charm offensive in western Kenya in an attempt to woo ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi & Ford-K’s Moses Wetangula as he looks to recreate a formidable team after the recent Jubilee purge in which key allies were ousted from critical positions. The change in tune has been largely interpreted as a strategy to woo the Western leaders into backing his bid for presidency.