Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General Edwin Sifuna fired back at Deputy President William Ruto after he questioned the value of the meetings held to popularise the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report on January 10, 2020.
Sifuna took to Twitter to let the DP know that the meetings were being held as per the agreement made on the day the BBI report was launched at Bomas of Kenya.
"It was agreed after Bomas to take the BBI report to the people. That's what we are doing. Everyone is on the same page...The government was here, the opposition was here. Why are some people crying?" Sifuna tweeted.
Ruto had criticised that the Kisii meeting was a waste of taxpayers money as Kenyans had not accessed the document to read for themselves.
"We agreed to prepare enough copies of the BBI report so that Kenyans could read for themselves and make personal decisions. When did it change to have it that party leaders were going to read it on behalf of Kenyans and make decisions for them?" Ruto questioned as he addressed members of the public at Esibakala Primary School, Emuhaya, Vihiga County.
"The other question is on this political mobilisation going on right now, what is it for if no one has come out to oppose the BBI. Why do we have to spend all that money to campaign for a document no one is opposing?" he further wondered.
Ther DP claimed that those pretending to campaign for the BBI were actually opposed to the document as it had not provided for the political seats they had expected.
He alleged they were campaigning in order to change the recommendations in the report and add their own wishes.
As DP Ruto was in Vihiga, leaders from Nyanza region were attending a meeting to discuss the report at Kisii Sports Club, which was followed by a public gathering at Kisii Stadium
It was speculated that the meeting had cost a whooping Ksh18 million.
