Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho on Sunday kicked off a campaign to popularize the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report in the Coast Region.
He assured the region’s residents that the initiative would enable minority communities to take over leadership in the country, including the presidency.
“The recommendations contained in the BBI report have given us hope that even minority communities can take up leadership unlike now when people from major communities have taken over most senior leadership positions,” he said.
He was speaking in Malindi on Sunday during the wedding of a son to Devolution Administrative Secretary Hussein Dado. The function was also attended by Dado and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Nurdin Haji.
“We will go around the entire region to sensitize the residents on the importance of supporting the initiative so that they are not left behind when the constitutional changes take effect,” Joho said.
He said local leaders would ensure that the aspirations of the Coastal people, including correcting historical injustices, are included in the final report in order for the area to stop being viewed as marginalized.
He called on fellow leaders in the region to forget about political party affiliations and move as a team in order for the region to gain from the ongoing constitutional debate.
“We believe that one day, this region will produce Kenya’s President, but this can only happen if we walk together as leaders in the region, because that is what will give us a voice,” he said.
Mr. Dado on his part said he was fully in support of the initiative, which is the result of the famous ‘handshake’ between President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga in March 2018.
The former Tana River Governor pledged to join hands with other leaders to popularize the initiative “in order to ensure that the people of the Coast region are represented in national leadership, including the formation of government in 2022,” he said.
Others present at the wedding ceremony were Garsen Member of Parliament Ali Wario Guyo and other politicians drawn from Tana River and Lamu Counties.
By Emmanuel
