Elgeyo Marakwet County becomes third assembly to reject BBI Bill

Elgeyo Marakwet County is now the third assembly to reject the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill.

17 members of the county assembly voted against it while 15 others supported it.

Baringo County was the first assembly to reject the BBI bill in a day of debate that degenerated into chaos.

Nandi was the second county to reject the BBI Bill though constitutional threshold of at least 24 assemblies has already been surpassed.

The Baringo county assembly voted overwhelmingly against the Bill with 30 MCAs voting no and only 5 voting yes.

Five MCAs did not participate in the exercise.

Tension was high in Kabarnet town shortly after the Assembly Speaker David Kerich announced the results.

Multiple reports indicated that teargas was lobbed into the assembly, forcing the legislators to escape to safety.

The premises also survived what would have been a dreary fire after a teargas canister lobbed on the roof exploded, sending sparks flying all over the place.

The session took a 30-minute break after a clash between KANU and Jubilee MCAs brought business into a stand still.

KANU MCAs- the minority at the assembly- had accused their Jubilee counterparts of hatching a plan to shoot the bill down before the requisite public participation.