NAIROBI, Kenya, May 6- Issues of community marginalization took center stage at the Senate Thursday, during debate on the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020, commonly known as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill.
This is after Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala pointed out that BBI will bring equity in the country and resolve historical inequalities citing some regions that are more developed than others and that people from that particular region are given leadership positions.
“Who is the chairman of KRA? Who is the Attorney General, where does he come from? Who is the head of the Public Service? Who is the head of Parliamentary Service Commission? Who is the CS for Public Service? Answer yourself those questions and you will agree that we have marginalization in this country,” Malala said.
His sentiments were not well received by a section of Senators led by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei and his Kiambu counterpart Kimani Wamatangi who argued that Malala was misleading the country with “tribal arguments.”
“That is a lost narrative. That is a narrative to divide the country and it cannot be allowed in this House. We are doing the wrong thing and he cannot be allowed to continue lying to Kenyans that we are divided along tribal lines in this modern-day and age,” Wamatangi said.
In a quick rejoinder, Nairobi and Makueni senators Johnson Sakaja and Mutula Kilonzo respectively called on their colleagues to have a sober debate on BBI as Kenyans and not as people from different ethnicities
“We cannot be merchants of despair in this House and perpetuate an ‘us versus them’ narrative. The politics of you are up because I am down and I am down b because you are up is what we are really trying to move beyond in this country. It is true many parts of this country are marginalized including Nairobi but as people who Kenyans look up to today, which hope are we providing?” Sakaja posed.
The House adjourned until Thursday afternoon amid mixed reactions among senators on whether the Bill should be amended.
House Speaker Ken Lusaka was expected to give a ruling before the vote.
At the National Assembly, Speaker Justin Muturi has ruled out further amendments to the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020 noting it is a product of popular initiative.
