There is palpable anxiety as allies of political rivals Deputy President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga congregate in Mombasa today for the BBI rally.<\/p>\n
The rally at Mama Ngina Waterfront Park follows two others in Kisii and Kakamega where Raila\u2019s allies had planned and dominated.In the prelude of the meeting, close to 3,000 delegates, including MPs, governors, senators, MCAs and civil society activists from the Coast met at Wildwaters Centre in Mombasa to discuss and draft memorandum on economic marginalisation and historical land injustices to be presented to the BBI task force.<\/p>\n
Raila, who arrived in Mombasa on Thursday, attended yesterday\u2019s meeting at Wildwaters Centre besides governors Hassan Joho of Mombasa, Amason Kingi of Kilifi, Dhadho Godana of Tana River, Granton Samboja of Taita Taveta and Lamu\u2019s Fahim Twaha.<\/p>\n
The ODM leader said it took him and President Uhuru Kenyatta two meetings lasting 19 hours for them to come up with the nine-point agenda of the BBI and make a handshake outside Harambee House in Nairobi.He dismissed those claiming the two leaders plotted to use the process to create positions for themselves in 2022.<\/p>\n
Unite Kenyans<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe did not discuss anything to do with President Kenyatta helping me become president and him becoming prime minister. This is propaganda by those opposed to the BBI process. We came up with BBI to unite Kenyans and not to create divisions,\u201d he said.The five governors told delegates that the conference and the rally were about consolidating Coast issues and not Tangatanga and Kieleweke political formations.<\/p>\n Joho called for meaningful conversations, warning those keen to cause chaos that they will not be condoned.\u201cWe are not in a political competition. We don\u2019t want heckling in our meetings. We are here because every view counts,\u201d said the governor.Kingi called for sobriety and urged those in attendance to be nationalistic and have the country at heart and not the political persuasions.\u201cIf you came here donning Tangatanga and kieleweke hats, put them down. We are here as Coast people to craft our document for posterity,\u201d he said.Earlier, Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and her Nyali counterpart Mohamed Ali held a press conference, which was disrupted by goons.<\/p>\n They then rushed to the Wildwaters Centre to join the rest of Coast delegates, saying they were ready to participate in a meeting that discussed the Coast agenda.\u201cAlthough we feel the BBI meetings are being secretly organised, we are determined to be part and parcel of any forum that discusses Coast issues,\u201d said Ms Jumwa.Also present were several MPs allied to Ruto, including Badi Twalib (Jomvu), Sharif Ali (Lamu East) and Stanley Muthama of Lamu West. Others were Lydia Haika (Taita Taveta), Naomi Shaban (Taveta) and Tana River Senator Wario Juma, also allied to the DP.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, 30 MPs allied to Ruto said they will join the rallies they had initially dismissed as a charade and a waste of time, throwing today\u2019s rally into a spin.Ruto had questioned the rationale of holding the rallies and the cost of running the meetings and his allies\u2019 turnaround has raised the temperatures in what would have been a Raila-and-allies event.<\/p>\n In an interview with a local TV station on Thursday, Ruto said politicians have hijacked the Building Bridges Initiative process for political gain. He said he will fight schemes to create an \u201cus versus them\u201d situation.Ruto said 90 per cent of people who have been attending the forums so far are ODM supporters.\u201cThere is a scheme to adulterate and hijack the process to end up with a report Kenyans did not propose. Rallies may continue with all the drama but we must have in place a structure where ordinary people will have an opportunity to present their views,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s meeting therefore will be a defining moment for the two teams who have traded barbs and sometimes bitter insults and whether they will gel after their tumultuous occasions.Late yesterday, dozens of legislators from Central region, allied to President Kenyatta, had arrived in Mombasa for today\u2019s rally.According to Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, 35 MPs, including Kanini Kega (Kieni), Sabina Chege (Murang\u2019a) and Jude Njomo (Kiambaa) will attend.On Ruto side, Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen will lead a team of 25 MPs for the rally.<\/p>\n Economic prosperity<\/strong><\/p>\n Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa said they would be there to talk about unity of the country and what needs to be addressed to ensure economic prosperity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will be in the Coast to join up with other Kenyans and talk about the unity of purpose and what needs to be done to improve the region,\u201d said Ichungwa.Governor Godhana urged residents to maintain the \u201cCoast spirit\u201d and shun those bent to disrupt the process.<\/p>\n In Nairobi, four MPs allied to Raila asked Ruto to apologise for allegedly opposing the BBI forums that he now wants to be part of. Nominated MP Godfrey Osotsi, Caleb Amisi (Saboti), Anthony Oluoch (Mathare) and Mark Nyamita urged organisers of the Mombasa rally not to let Ruto allies dictate the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThey must apologise before joining us. Without apologies, let them sit as spectators in Tononoka,\u201d said Osotsi.He said Ruto is on record saying BBI forums were a waste of public funds and a scheme to take care of a few people and ignore majority of Kenyans.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, two MPs and a CAS told Ruto\u2019s allies to prepare for a showdown in Mombasa today should they attack President Kenyatta and Raila.Gender CAS Rachel Shebesh, Homa Bay Woman Rep Gladys Wanga and Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi warned the DP allies asked the Tangatanga team to guard their speeches.<\/p>\n Speaking in Homa Bay town when they flagged off 240 youths who have been sponsored by National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), Shebesh told Tangatanga MPs to attend the meeting \u201cwith manners\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to warn Murkomen and his group against insulting Uhuru and Raila because even I cannot insult Ruto,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is palpable anxiety as allies of political rivals Deputy President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga congregate in Mombasa today for the BBI rally. The rally at Mama Ngina Waterfront Park follows two others in Kisii and Kakamega where Raila\u2019s allies had planned and dominated.In the prelude of the meeting, close to 3,000 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":1325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[235,265,742,242],"class_list":["post-1324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-bbi","tag-building-bridges-initiative","tag-mama-ngina-waterfront-park","tag-raila-odinga"],"yoast_head":"\n