Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen on Tuesday, January 21, announced that all Jubilee Party leaders had resolved to join ODM Party leader Raila Odinga in his BBI consultative meetings.
Speaking from Serena Hotel in Nairobi, the Senate majority leader led a group of Jubilee Senators and MPs, including Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika, who all vowed to aid Odinga in drumming up support for the initiative.
"We will be participating in all public BBI rallies across the country and this weekend we will be in Mombasa together with the BBI team," he declared.
However, he also aired out his misgivings on how the report was being peddled across the country, "Unfortunately, even before the period was defined, and to our profound dismay, it has come to our attention that a section of the political leadership already commenced public rallies aimed at politicizing the BBI process," he stated.
Murkomen went on to outline seven resolutions they had come up with following their closed-door session as follows:
1. That we shall participate and contribute towards the success of the already organized BBI rallies across the country, beginning with Mombasa this weekend.
2. That to support existing efforts and complement the already scheduled rallies, we are organizing rallies in other parts of the country. We shall soon announce the calendar of complimentary rallies to reinforce those already published. To these rallies, everybody irrespective of political opinion is invited.
3. That we fully support the BBI report as launched and intend to fully participate in related engagements in good faith.
4.That we shall mobilize our constituents to present their views in all the 290 constituencies as soon as the task force gazetted by Government announces their full schedule.
5. THAT we believe that by our participation in these rallies, we shall redirect the BBI conversation to people-centric issues such as the economy, unemployment, social justice, rule of law & human rights. At the moment the discussion is centred on the pursuit of political power & positions by leaders.
6. We are concerned with reports of existance of a clandestine BBI steering committe with an underground draft report & bill. To this end, we demand that the entire BBI process be driven in an open and transparent manner by the gazetted committee.
7. We are opposed to the use of public funds in the organized BBI rallies unless appropriated by parliament or county assemblies. Our participation & organization of BBI rallies shall be through personal contributions.
This was a surprise move, with the Senator having grabbed the headlines back in November when he was booed off the stage at the Bomas of Kenya after he made claims that the BBI report was biased.
“Even before I spoke as the leader of the majority in the Senate, I was already feeling the conversation didn’t represent the wider communities across the country,” Murkomen stated at the launch.
He criticised the organizers of the event in the full glare of the media, foreign dignitaries and guests.
“Your Excellency, we must have an honest discussion here. Junet Mohammed (Suna East MP), I'll be lying if I left this stage without saying that this programme has been skewed to leave out people with different opinions,” lamented Murkomen immediately he took to the podium before he was jeered off.
However, he has since announced that the ruling party was behind the initiative and that it would be part of the team set to drum up support for the BBI on Saturday, January 25.
