Raila Features Prominently In Uhuru’s Address As ‘BBI Reggae Echoes’

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 30- Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga featured prominently in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s State of the Nation Address, from his role in introducing him to the National Assembly chambers, to the March 2018 handshake, which he said brought the much needed political stabilization.

The President also pointed out that he served as a Deputy Prime Minister, during the coalition government led by President Mwai Kibaki and the former Prime Minister.

But it is the political baby of the handshake between President Kenyatta and the Orange Democratic Movement leader that seemed to perturb the President more than anything else.

A judgment by a five-judge bench in mid-May delivered declared the BBI process null and void and stopped any further progress, just after the Member of Parliament had passed it.

The Supreme Court is set to hear and rule on a number of issues revolving around the initiative next year. The Court of Appeal upheld that the initiative was unconstitutional.

The President highlighted a list of items, he said, the country lost by failing to undertake the first amendment of the constitution.

His Deputy President William Ruto initially supported the amendment process through a referendum, but later led opposition to the initiative, and did not shy away from celebrating when the Court declared it null and void.

“What did not happen will happen,” the President said after listing what the country lost, by failing to amend the constitution.

“We lost an opportunity for equal representation in leadership positions, we would have ensured 50 percent of Senate comprised women.”

Further, he said by dismissing the amendment, “we lost an opportunity to increase funds to Counties.”

” The need for political stabilization is I believe the most urgent task facing Kenyans today and it is the foundation upon which our greater justice, fairness and security will be built on.”

He pointed out that, “The people of Kenya wanted a Constitutional change, but a few individuals sat down in a backroom and decided otherwise.”

He said the amendments were also anchored on the need to ensure the current winners’ take it all approach is changed.

“We must be alive to the fact that our elections are very competitive and every electioneering year the economy suffers,” he said.

“All the things we have done wouldn’t have happened without political stabilization.”