The BBI is a Political Lie

The team that was crafted by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his political arch-rival former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to ease political tensions in the country is expected to hand in its report any time this month.  Dubbed the "Building Bridges Initiative" or simply "the BBI," this team was crafted after a political truce between Uhuru and Raila following the hotly contested 2017 presidential election to look into ways of averting perennial post-election crisis in the country. 

Building Bridges Initiative Chairman Yusuf Haji makes a point during one of the taskforces' sittings at Maasai Mara University in Narok County in February. [Robert Kiplagat, Standard]

Even though the contents of the BBI report are not yet public, rumor has it that the team is proposing sweeping constitutional changes aimed at promoting inclusivity in government. Among issues being fronted is the creation of the position of a powerful Prime Minister and two deputies. Such changes will be enabled via a referendum. 

But are we doing the right thing? Will the creation of more positions guarantee peace and security? Will such positions fight graft in government? Will a few government positions for 1 or 2 people create jobs for the millions of unemployed youth?

In the clamor  for a new constitution in 2010, politicians and legal experts told us that this is one of the most "progressive constitutions" in the world and those who opposed it were branded names. Now we are at it again. Politicians have made it look like Kenyans want to change the constitution because these same politicians are not satisfied. The bitter truth is that Kenyans do not really care about any new constitution; they do not care about the referendum but since the plebiscite idea is fronted by powerful and influential politicians, it is now fashioned as Kenyan's push! If Raila did not want such changes, trust me no one would be pushing for them.

As a country we do not need any better constitution than we have now for us to fight corruption, provide food security or create jobs for the unemployed. All that we need is a radical transformation of our political culture and our mindset. All we need are patriotic ethical men and women of integrity who can respect our institutions of governance and move the country forward. We do not need selfish politicians who rig elections or who not accept electoral defeat and then universalize their problems!