Editor's Review

President Uhuru Kenyatta has once again touched on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) bill that was declared illegal by the High Court. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta has once again touched on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) bill that was declared illegal by the High Court. 

Addressing the Nation during the 57th Jamhuri Day Celebrations on Sunday, Kenyatta assured Kenyans that the BBI dream had only been deferred but would one day happen. 

The Head of State said that BBI only encountered legal obstacles but temporarily. 

"Although it encountered some legal obstacles, I say today BBI is just a dream deferred. One day, someday it will happen. Because just as the country cannot survive ethnic majoritarianism and exclusion, just in the same breathe it cannot survive unfair representation. 

{President Uhuru Kenyatta}

In May 2021, the High Court annulled the BBI referendum process terming it illegal. 

The judges held that the BBI steering committee was unlawful, had no legal capacity to promote constitutional changes, and thus entire BBI process was done unconstitutionally.

“The BBI bill cannot be subjected to a referendum before IEBC conducts voter registration. There is no quorum at IEBC to conduct its mandate including signature verification submitted by IEBC. At the time of launch of the report, there was no legislation to guide the conduct of the referendum,” the judges said.

Immediately, the decision was appealed by proponents of BBI that was being championed by President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

However, Kenyatta and Odinga suffered another setback in August 2021 after the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the High Court declaring the BBI process unconstitutional.

The process started in March 2018 following a political truce between the two leaders.