Moses Kuria: Uhuru, Ruto meeting a sign to revive BBI talks

Hours after President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta held a closed-door meeting, Former Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has asked political leaders in the country to re-look the Constitution of Kenya.

This was after Kuria, once an opposer of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) conversation, said it was time to revive the conversation.

Following the March 2018 handshake with former Premier Raila Odinga during his tenure, Uhuru proposed a set of amendments to the Constitution of Kenya dubbed BBI. However, the proposals were shot down by the courts.

Kuria made the sentiments via a personal statement shared on his social media pages on Tuesday afternoon, which majorly captured his reaction to Uhuru-Ruto meeting and other political issues.

In his statement, Kuria lauded the two leaders for choosing to put their differences apart terming it an act of ‘sobriety, selflessness and patriotism’.

“Closing ranks and forgiving each other is much easier than having to deal with the aftermath of a failed nation/state. In this regard, I wish to thank [Former] President Kenyatta and President Ruto for choosing the nation over personal or sectarian considerations. Coming hot on the heels of the formation of the broad based government by President Ruto and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, it is another affirmation of Kenya’s resilience,” Kuria’s statement reads in part.

Subtly, the former Gatundu South MP appears to accept that opposing the BBI was a mistake and said “The frequent handshakes and artificial formations have vindicated President Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila on the BBI initiative. They were right and we were wrong. I urge President Ruto, President Kenyattaand Prime Minister Raila to close ranks and lead the nation in picking from where BBI flopped and give this county a Constitution that speaks to the emerging realities of our nation and our society. BBI Season 2 is urgent and cannot wait,”

Having served as a Cabinet Secretary in Ruto’s regime, the former lawmaker says emotions expressed in Mount Kenya Region after  Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment and ouster from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party are normal.

In what seems like an effort to ensure no other leader from the Region is ousted in such a manner, Kuria who is now a Senior Advisor at the Council of Economic Advisors in State House is urging the people of Central Region to re-join and re-unite under the Jubilee Party.

In what many may term as a calculated political move, Kuria says leaving the former ruling party to join UDA and other political parties was a mistake.

“For all the good and bad lessons we have learnt, it was a mistake to leave the Jubilee Party. However, it is not too late. We will now embark on bringing all the political parties with a footing in the region together under the Jubilee Party. We did it in 2016 when we dissolved parties to form Jubilee. We will do it again. Jubilee under President Kenyatta as the Party header is the way to go,” Kuria suggested.

In the run-up to 2022 General Election, most politicians in the region left Jubilee Party and either joined Ruto’s UDA or formed their own parties.

Politicians like Moses Kuria formed his own Chama Cha Kazi party, a vehicle he used in the race for Kiambu Gubernatorial seat. He lost to UDA Candidate Kimani Wamatangi.

After the polls, UDA party won in most of the electoral units in Central Kenya crippling the former president’s party in the region.

The party further lost stability when it was faced with leadership wrangles as some members stayed put while others jumped ship to work with the majority side (Kenya Kwanza) in Parliament.