Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday, January 23 spoke on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) for the first time since his allies announced that they would be joining the regional forums to discuss the report.
Speaking in Embakasi West Constituency, Ruto called on BBI Task-force Chairperson, Senator Yussuf Haji, to create a structure that allows ordinary Kenyans to contribute views on the BBI, as opposed to politicians controlling the process.
With his allies expected to attend the BBI forum in Mombasa on Saturday, January 25, Ruto asserted that they would not allow the process to be hijacked by politicians out to create positions for themselves.
"On BBI, we have all agreed we don't want politics of ethnicity and hate. We want politics that brings Kenyans together.
"In that BBI, we want every citizen to be given an opportunity to contribute their views. And that is why we are asking Haji and his committee to create a program so that the mama mboga (grocery vendor), makanga (tout), boda boda (motorcycle rider) also gives their views.
"And to the politicians like myself and others, let us not hijack the BBI and make it about politicians, positions and power. We want BBI to talk about that jobless person here. How will his problems be solved?" Ruto told the crowd.
He further stated that if any changes were to be made to the original report, ordinary Kenyans would first have to contribute their views.
"We want to know about the economy, where is the space for a talented youth here in Embakasi West?
"Kenya belongs to all of us, not a few individuals. We want to work together to ensure every Kenyan citizen is taken care of when we talk about BBI," Ruto maintained.
Members of the Tanga Tanga faction allied to Ruto had on Tuesday, January 21, announced that they would join the series of BBI meetings, in a surprise move, given past statements where they dismissed the meetings as a waste of public funds and opposition campaign rallies.
Led by Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen, the leaders promised to focus on matters of the economy affecting Kenyans at the Mombasa meeting.
"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," Murkomen maintained.
Watch a video of Ruto speaking in Embakasi West below:
