Politicians on Saturday visited Nyeri town to create awareness on the Building Bridges Initiative report.
They urged residents to support its proposals. Those present included Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu (the host), Kieni MP Kanini Kega, Kiambu Woman Representative Gathoni Wamuchomba and former MPs Njenga Mungai (Molo), Cyrus Nagahu (Kangema) and Peter Weru (Mathira).
Wambugu said the meeting was meant to counter lies being peddled by people opposed to the BBI and are hellbent on misleading Kenyans. He told residents to focus on the benefits of the document such as unity, increased allocation of resources to the counties, equal representation and equity in resource distribution.
Also, the expansion of the Executive will promote inclusivity and end post-poll chaos witnessed in the country every election year, he said. “The seats are meant for unity, ending incidents of people fighting after polls.”
Wambugu said everyone willing to run for the presidency will have to form a team of five people from different communities with whom to campaign and form a government in case of victory.
“And that is the inclusivity the President has been talking about. But I am sure there are people who are afraid because they cannot find four other people to campaign with,” he said.
He also praised the proposed increase of county revenue allocation from the current minimum of 15 per cent to at least 35 per cent. He added that Nyeri, which currently gets about Sh5.4 billion, will have the money increased more than double, hence enabling it to serve residents better.
Wamuchomba shared similar sentiments, saying the BBI will ensure equity in the distribution of resources in areas that have been getting a raw deal. She said there will be Victims Protecting Trust Fund that will ensure victims of terrorism are compensated.
"Victims of terrorism and their families should be treated by the Kenyan Constitution as equal citizens with equal rights and be compensated for the attacks against them," she said.
Sh10 billion restorative justice fund has been proposed to compensate those displaced or affected by post-election chaos or any other political chaos, the lawmaker added. She said those affected by historical injustices will also have their issues addressed.
She said moving the woman representative seats from the National Assembly to the Senate will ease their work as they will be able to represent the entire county where devolved issues are discussed.
The document will also increase women representation and address the issue of gender parity in the National Assembly, she said.
Kega, for his part, said such meetings will be done in every constituency in the county to counter misformation. He accused Tangatanga of misleading Kenyans by claiming that Deputy President William Ruto was not fully involved in the handshake and the BBI process.
“That is the hypocrisy of the highest level. The DP was well briefed and in fact, he contributed names to the list that the President gave of seven members,” he said.
Kega said the President said openly that the DP gave three names out of the seven
"But we saw it yesterday and the day before yesterday when one of his nominees went out there to lie again to the Kenyan people that he was not part and parcel of the final draft, only for him to retract later.”
He said the document is meant to bring Kenyans together as it addresses the major challenges bedevelling the country.
Mungai said the recurrent violence in Rift Valley in every election year will be addressed.