Uhuru Slams the Judiciary over Decision to Nullify BBI
President Kenyatta has lambasted the judiciary over the ruling that nullified the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process.
Kenyatta, who spoke during the 58th Madaraka Day celebrations in Kisumu on Tuesday, accused the courts of overstepping their mandate.
The president stated that while he is committed to following the rule of law and obeying court orders, he is compelled by his position to listen to the sovereign and supreme voice of the people of Kenya.
“BBI is meant to build bridges, create inclusive politics, and to end the ethnic majoritarianism of two tribes. If the decision to stop BBI had been subjected to a cost-benefit analysis, in other words, if it had considered the burden of choice: If we are in a constitutional moment, is a decision against BBI a decision in support of status quo?” Kenyatta posed.
He added: “From nullification of a presidential election in 2017 to an attempt to stop the will of the people as expressed through BBI, the Judiciary has tested our constitutional limits, but not broken them.”
He pointed out that the judiciary, as an independent institution, should be bound by the consequences of its decisions.
“When the Presidential election was nullified in 2017, we lost Sh1 trillion as an economy in only 123 days. We were losing 1 billion shillings every working hour for the 123 days we held the 2017 election. The citizens will have the burden of losing 30% of our national budget every five years due to the toxic politics,” Uhuru remarked.
At the same time, Kenyatta rallied support for the BBI Bill, saying that everyone, including its critics, agree it is good for Kenya.
“Everyone knows that BBI is good for the country even those who are unhappy with it but Kenyans have embraced fear of change instead of continually striving for a fairer, just, peaceful, cohesive, and democratic Kenya. Those opposing BBI oppose it, not because of its substance, but because they cannot dare to imagine a better Kenya for all,’ he added.