NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 9 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has dismissed an open letter by Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata alluding to the unpopularity of his Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitution review agenda in the larger Mt Kenya region.
President Kenyatta, while affirming that he was still in control of the government and its agenda, said he will not condone lectures.
“I am in charge of this government and I am in control of what we are doing. I don’t want anyone to lecture me! I know where I am and I am very clear on where I am going,” he said.
“I don’t have a problem with anyone but there is nobody who will hinder my plans to bring Kenyans together because that is the most important thing,” President Kenyatta added.
Kang’ata, who also doubles up as the Senate Majority Whip, had called on the President to realign his plan for the BBI, saying less than 20 per cent of the population in central region were supportive of the BBI constitutional review process.
In his letter, Kang’ata pointed out that only two in ten people in Central Kenya support the BBI report which is a product of President Kenyatta’s 2018 political truce with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He said the finding was based on his observations during the Christmas and the New Year holidays.
The letter sparked mixed reactions across the political divide, with a section of Central Kenya leaders loyal to Deputy President William Ruto saying they had been finally been vindicated.
Ten Governors from Central Kenya dismissed Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata assertions as immature.
“As a senior Member of Parliament and Jubilee party, Hon Kangata should have followed official government structures and procedures in his address to the President. Such breach of protocol is unacceptable and it raises questions why a senior member of the government leadership in parliament would choose this cheap populist method to address this issue to HE the President whose office is just a few steps away from parliament,” the governors said in joint statement.
