Former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has opined on a matter that he believes might bring an end to the relationship between ODM leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Speaking on AmLive NTV on Tuesday, February 25, Khalwale revisited the grand coalition government's decision to evict residents from the Mau forest and compared it to the current Building Bridges initiative.
He claimed that at the time, Kibaki mooted the idea to have the people occupying the forests be evicted to pave way for conservation efforts, a matter that Odinga took wholeheartedly.
He further added that on the same day, Kibaki backtracked on the idea after Raila had taken up the initiative, in effect painting Odinga as the enemy of the people.
Khalwale stated that the BBI initiative was a similar experiment to the Mau settlers, and again to the detriment of Odinga.
"This Building Bridges Initiative is a very dangerous experiment. I can only compare it to the resettlement of the Mau forest settlers.
"History is repeating itself. Uhuru and Raila have agreed on the BBI initiative. Uhuru has not appeared on a single BBI rally while Raila is all over the place. I will not be surprised if he burns his fingers again," he stated.
Khalwale lamented that the initiative has taken the hallmarks of an idea that is bound to split Kenyans in the middle more than unite them.
He urged Odinga to reconsider the entire agenda in the spirit of national unity and also as a result of his role as the Prime Minister at a time when the country was reeling from violence.
"I kneel before Raila and beg him that please, for five years, you were the prime minister of Kenya governing one country, under one flag. It is just about time this deception ended," he stated.
All that peace, he intimated, was at threat given the divisive utterances that rule the BBI rallies unabated as Raila keeps watch.
"How come the former PM keeps quiet in a public rally in Kitui, Mombasa, and Narok when hate speech, ethnic profiling, character assassination, and incitements of inter-ethnic conflict is taking place?
Why doesn't he even play it down or ask for the people to desist from such utterances?" he posed.
