ODM leader Raila Odinga addresses a public gathering in Ganze, Kilifi County on November 5, 2022. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT
Azimio leader Raila Odinga has accused President William Ruto of supporting the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) proposals despite rejecting them in the recent past.
The BBI is a raft of proposals made by former president Uhuru Kenyatta and Odinga aimed at changing the constitution.
The proposals were trashed in court and Ruto was vocal in voicing his discontent claiming his then political challengers were interested in rewarding loyalists with additional political decision at the expense of development.
Odinga’s comments come days after the Head of State requested Parliament to consider constitutional changes so as to create the Office of the Opposition Leader.
President Ruto made the request in writing while also proposing the introduction of laws to cushion the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and increase the number of seats in Parliament.
But Mr Odinga, who lost to Ruto in the August 2022 presidential elections, says the Head of State is now shifting goalposts.
“Mr Ruto has appropriated the views of the people and speaks of the proposals as his own. But further than that, in making these proposals, he falls foul of the same demands he made when he used to lead the challenge against BBI,” Mr Odinga said.
Mr Odinga also warned President Ruto to follow the law if he wants to create the Office of the Opposition leader.
“However, they can’t be presented as he has done nor processed through the procedure he is prescribing. He must comply with the same imperatives that he demanded during BBI.”
The BBI had proposed establishing the office of the Leader of the Opposition, an office preserved for the candidate who finishes second in a presidential election.
President Ruto has been vocal on the creation of the Office of the Leader of Opposition.
“I am a great believer in an accountable government. That is why we want our oversight institutions, Parliament and the Opposition to be empowered so that they can ensure that public resources are used properly and appropriately so that we can run an accountable,” said the President.
President Ruto says as the opposition will be doing its job, the government would also be playing its role of delivering to Kenyans.
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