Despite being jeered ‘Respect the President’ by delegates at the Bomas, Deputy President William Ruto bravely highlighted the reasons leading to him opposing some sections of the Building Bridges Initiative .
While speaking on the 26th of October 2020 at Bomas, DP Ruto raised critical loop-holes in the BBI, which he felt should be addressed. Calling himself a scientist, he said that Kenyans needed longer time to analyze the report and that there was no need to precipitate a referendum.
“We are not all at the same level when it comes to reading .Scientists like myself we take a bit long because we interrogate things.” Said the DP.
On the recommendation to have political parties to participate in the appointment of IEBC commissioners, DP Ruto used a football league metaphor, asking how fair would a league be if the referees were appointed by the teams.
He used Abraham Lincoln’s quote to defend the Hustler Nation saying “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”
The second in command also said that the Ombudsman proposal waters down the Judiciary’s independence ,adding that Kenya needed more courts instead, across the country.
He as well expressed his disinclination to accept the proposal to abolish the National Police Service Commission and instead replace it with the Kenya Police Council, to be chaired by an Interior Cabinet Minister, arguing it takes away the independence of the commission exercising oversight functions on the police as constituted in the 2010 Constitution.
Recommending about the senate, DP Ruto urgued that the BBI’s propasal to stop the senate from continuing to have the constitutional mandate to discuss the division of revenue was a downgrade of the senate. He said the senate should have necessary constitutional power to ensure resources are available and are used properly.
On the issue of inclusivity , DP Ruto said BBI does not address what he termed as the “the elephant in the room” He said the President appointing a Prime Minister from the winning coalition and runners up being opposition leader would not sort out the “winner takes -it-all” question.
To the jeering crowd consisting of delegates, he cautioned them saying “Today , you may have latitude to do what you think is right by you. Tomorrow, the shoe will be on the other foot”
