In an overnight meeting that was held at the Lake Naivasha Resort on Thursday, December 5 involving different leaders from the Rift Valley region, details have emerged of the ensuing issues addressed in the highly charged meeting.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, a source present at the meeting has revealed that the leaders were on a mission to demystify the recently released Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report, with an intention of finding a way forward on the issue.
The source further confirmed that over 90 leaders from the region converged on Thursday drawn from all constituencies in the region including elected leaders and other vocal leaders in the region.
In a report that aired on Inooro TV from the night meeting, Senate majority leader, Kipchumba Murkomen, claimed that the meeting was scheduled for the leaders to completely grasp the details in the BBI report.
“We are here in the spirit of what the president said. We just came to get a better understanding of the BBI report that was released by the BBI committee.
“We have read the report but we called in constitutional experts to help us understand the report better,” remarked Murkomen.
The senator further refuted any claims that the meeting was being held to discuss the recent remarks by the president that seemed to be directed to leaders aligned to Deputy President William Ruto.
"We fully respect the President and as juniors, we shall not answer back, but study the BBI report before coming up with a way forward for the region," said Murkomen as quoted by The Standard.
On his side, Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri confirmed that the indoor meeting was majorly scheduled to discuss the BBI recommendations with an intention to disseminate important information about the report to the public.
“How many can read [the report] for themselves? Many Kenyans may not be able to grasp anything from the report and that is why we want to be conversant with it for easier explanation to them.
“We also have some issues to discuss how farmers and other Rift Valley region people are currently facing,” added Kimani.
Naivasha MP Jane Kihara also reiterated the same claiming that the region has many issues that only leaders from there can comprehend.
Leaders associated with the deputy president have been on the forefront drumming support for a parliamentary process to bring into law the BBI report rather than a referendum process that would involve the public.
On December 4, President Uhuru Kenyatta made a scathing attack on leaders concerning the hyped BBI debate calling on leaders to avoid politicising the process.
“A month before we released the report, they were busy moving around the country saying their own things. Now that we have released the report, they have moved in a different direction. These are people who don’t know where they are going,” lashed out President Kenyatta.
