Garissa Town MP Aden Duale veered off script during the Nikaah Ceremony (in Islam, marriage) of Fafi Ward MCA Hassan Halane, and turned his speech into a clarion call against passing the BBI report in its current form.
Speaking during the colorful wedding ceremony on Saturday November 14, the vocal legislator started off my addressing the lovely couple before suddenly diving right into the BBI agenda.
”As you unite in marriage I wish you years of happiness, love, and joy! May Allah bless you! My beloved bride and groom Congratulations on your wedding! To the people of Garissa, we hold leadership position as entrusted and delegated through the people under article 1 of the constitution (All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya) hence our irreducible minimum on the BBI proposal stands," he stated.
He then went on to list what he defined as non-negotiables that had to be included in the BBI report in order for his community to rally behind the document.
"Resource allocation and representation is key to the interest of our people. In the last constitutional review we secured our share of new constituencies. In 2020 we need at least 3 more constituencies for the North Eastern Province (3 counties) and other pastorals counties. Ijara and Wajir South need extra seats of representation.
"We the pastoralists want to be part of the Kenyan constitutional reform discussion with our interests carried on board to build a new united Kenya," he asserted.
Also present at the colorful event was Garissa Governor Ali Korane, a vocal BBI proponent.
Korane took his time on the stage to push in the exact opposite direction, urging his county residents to ignore any undue influence to oppose the BBI report until they all had a chance to read through it for themselves.
He later went to preside over the ASAL Youth Conference where he reiterated the same message, adding that there was a need for consensus to support the recommendations in the BBI Report.
The Governor also rubbished claims that some new constituencies had been created and that Garissa had only gotten 1 new seat.
Watch Governor Korane's ASAL speech below:
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"I talked to the principals and they informed me that all this stories in the media on how the seats will be shared and that we only got one are false stories. No seats have been shared and no constituencies have been created," he stated.
He went on to explain that the BBI report recommended a proportional representation method based on the number of voters who turn out for an election in a constituency and that it would be determined after the actual election.
"It will not be based on population or the total number of registered voters. These seats will be shared based on voter turn out," he explained.
On Sunday, November 15, ODM Party leader Raila Odinga announced that following a closed door meeting held at Ciala Resort in Kisumu, leaders from Western Kenya and Nyanza had given their unreserved approval for the BBI report.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i was among the leaders present at the meeting.
"After successful deliberations, Governors from Nyanza & Western region have agreed to support the BBI report without any reservations. The exercise to collect 1 million signatures is set to commence next week to initiate the referendum process," CS Matiang'i revealed.
