BBI is Just a Dream Deferred, President Uhuru Says

President Kenyatta insists that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was meant to cure some of the issues that have bedeviled the country for long.

Kenyatta, who spoke during the 58th Jamhuri Day celebrations at the renovated Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on Sunday, said the proposals contained in the BBI Constitutional Amendment Bill would have made Kenya “a more cohesive, equal, and progressive nation.”

He stressed that even though the initiative was nullified by the courts, Kenyans will adopt it in the future.

“Although it (BBI) encountered some legal obstacles, I can only say that BBI is just a dream deferred. One day, someday, it will happen,” Uhuru stated.

“We are building a house called Kenya and there is no place for one-manism in this project. It is the collective work of every able-bodied Kenyan.” 

The president indicated that the country cannot survive what he termed as ethnic majoritarianism, exclusion, and unfair and skewed representation.

“We were bold enough to change the Constitution and expand the executive in order to accommodate the excluded. And when the former Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga and I shook hands on March 8th, 2018, it was because we saw a crack on the wall of our nation,” Uhuru added.

“The need to come together and mend the crack on the wall of our nation necessitated the first amendment to our Constitution.”

Uhuru observed that Kenya lost approximately Sh1 trillion in business losses due to the discord witnessed in the wake of the acrimonious 2013 and 2017 general elections.

“The need for political stabilization is the most urgent task facing Kenya today, and it is the foundation upon, which our greater justice, fairness, health, wealth, and security will be built on. For that reason, it shall happen,” he said.