Raila Odinga: BBI will not make Uhuru Prime Minister

ODM leader Raila Odinga has set the record straight on the Building Bridges Initative’s (BBI) purported real intentions saying it is not meant to help President Uhuru Kenyatta become Kenya’s Prime Minister.

Raila was speaking in Murang’a during the burial of Senator Irungu Kang’ata’s father on Monday.

In the same breath, he dismissed claims that the initiative was a vehicle for him to ascend to power in 2022.

“The BBI process which was birthed by the handshake is not meant to enable Raila to be president or to make Uhuru a prime minister,” He said.

Raila who was speaking against a backdrop of claims that the BBI had been hijacked by persons interested in 2022 succession said the BBI would soon head to ‘Tangatanga’ zones where critics would have a chance to air their views.

Addressing Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, Raila said: “Those of your political persuasion should wait for the rallies. We will soon be in Eldoret where they can air their views.”

At the same time, Raila defended controversial statements made during the Maa community BBI rally over the weekend.

He noted that leaders who spoke during the forum had a right to express themselves.

While agitating for the resolution of historical land injustices’ senator Ledama Ole Kina made controversial statements about the ownership of land in his county by people who were non-Maasai.

His sentiments attracted backlash from a section of politicians and Kenyans who dismissed the utterances as reckless and divisive and with the potential to cause ethnic profiling.

He has since been summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over the matter.