Thirdway Alliance leader criticises ole Kina over hate speech

Thirdway Alliance Nakuru County coordinator Crispus Wathimba speaks in Nakuru at a past event. PHOTO |FRANCIS MUREITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • He said that with such utterances is making the BBI look like an illegal process.  

  • He said that all communities contribute to the growth of the country’s economy.  

The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) may not achieve its objective of bringing national cohesion if politicians are allowed to spew toxic utterances.

The coordinator of the Thirdway Alliance in Nakuru County Crispus Wathimba said unfortunate utterances made by politicians supporting BBI could divide the country along ethnic lines ahead of 2022 elections.

VIOLENCE

“BBI started on the wrong footing, it is dividing Kenyans,” said Mr Wathimba on Tuesday.

“The BBI is supposedly aimed at healing the wounds of the past post-election violence since 1992 but when you hear unfortunate utterances from politicians such as Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina, you doubt the intention of the initiative of uniting the country,” said Mr Wathimba.

He said that such utterances is making the BBI look like an illegal process.  

“Thirdway Alliance has petitioned the court to declare BBI taskforce unconstitutional and its report nullified,” said Mr Wathimba.

According to Thirdway Alliance Party, whose Punguza Mizigo initiative failed last year, constituting the BBI team amounted to misuse of public funds.

HANDSHAKE

President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga’s handshake led to the formation of BBI team formation.

To tame the loose tongues of some of the politicians, Mr Wathimba wants the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to rein in on such politicians.

Mr Ledama told a public rally in Narok last Saturday that it was wrong for people from other communities to take some leadership positions and own land in the county.

“These utterances by Mr Ledama are unfortunate yet he knows very well that the Constitution allows anybody to work, own business and exercise their democratic rights wherever they are in the country,” argued Mr Wathimba.

COSMOPOLITAN COUNTY

Narok County is one of the cosmopolitan counties where different communities own land, do business and occupy leadership positions.

“What message was Mr Ledama communicating to his Maa community yet he swore to protect the Constitution?” asked Mr Wathimba.

“Being born and having inheritance land doesn’t make the original land owners have more constitutional powers. Mr Ledama’s utterances have no place in modern day Kenya,” he added.

He said the big debate is not about the land one owns but piece of the national cake that one is entitled to. He said that all communities contribute to the growth of the country’s economy.  

 “What we want is Kenyans to share the national cake equally and that is the only way all Kenyans can feel to be part and parcel of this country. That is the inclusivity Thirdway Alliance Party is pushing for,” he added.

DEVOLUTION

He announced that Punguza Mizigo advocates for allocating more resources in the wards to be managed by people through public participation.

“Elected leaders should do legislation and oversight. They should refrain from managing public resources to enable people enjoy the fruits of devolution,” he added.

He said public participation should give residents a chance to determine what the national resources should do to them.

 “Being Kenyan is not defined by land ownership only but by participating in consumption and generation of resources within the country,” concluded Mr Wathimba.