The political contestation over the Building Bridges Initiative is taking an ominously dangerous dimension. Positions are hardening and political formations becoming increasingly belligerent. While at the weekend members of the various camps made attempts at reconciling in Mombasa and pledged to take a common approach to canvass the BBI report, events of the past two days have demonstrated that the groups are poles apart. Battle lines have been drawn and there is no pretence anymore.
Which is the subject that concerns us. The centrepiece of BBI is reconciliation. It’s a product of the ‘handshake’ between President Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga in a truce following the contentious elections of 2017 that precipitated violence, and was intended to find a lasting solution to cyclical flare-ups after every election.
Yet, instead of creating amity, BBI is turning out to be the singular most controversial subject. And this is due to varied interpretations. Deputy President William Ruto and his allies have never accepted the spirit of the ‘handshake’ and view BBI as a calculated strategy to block his ascendancy to the presidency after President Kenyatta completes his final term in 2022.
And, despite public denials, supporters of Mr Odinga perceive the initiative as a building block to his next stab at the presidency with the evolving wave of public support viewed as indicative of his growing acceptance and surest path towards that coveted office.
Both perspectives are detrimental as they feed negative narratives that are likely to tear apart the country. Contriving critical issues and framing them simplistically, as politicians do, exacerbates existing enmities.
The altercations between various groups — those supporting the Kenyatta-Odinga axis and the Ruto camp — are raising political temperatures and tension unnecessarily. BBI is no longer the subject but a decoy that masks underlying political currents linked to the Uhuru Succession. Ensuing political mobilisation is a dress rehearsal to campaigns for the presidential election.
Clearly, the politicians have got it all wrong. BBI should never be a tool for seeking or demonstrating political supremacy. The proposals were meant to remedy constitutional and administrative ambiguities. They address pertinent issues like inclusivity, equity and fairness, recognising the negative effect of the existing lapses. The issues ought to be addressed candidly and resolved amicably.
The country has many pressing and important issues to fix. It can never be that an election is the beginning and end of everything. We urge a stop to political posturing and brinkmanship. Persistent squabbles and conflicts over BBI should stop.
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