A section of Western Kenya leaders who have been planing a parallel rally at the Nabongo Grounds in Mumias on Saturday has vowed to proceed with their plans despite the police warning against it.
The permit for the function was cancelled on Wednesday, in favour of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) consultative form set for Bukhungu Stadium on the same day.
But the group, now says that the Bukhungu function was planned to undermine theirs, arguing that they were the first ones to organize a meeting in Kakamega county.
"We were the first group to organise the meeting in Mumias. The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) meeting in Bukhungu is solely meant to undermine our meeting,” said Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali.
He made the remarks while addressing the press in Chavakali, Vihiga county on Thursday. He added that the Bukhungu function is an ODM party event and not a consultative function.
According to him, it is unrealistic when the organizers of the Bukhungu function claim that they will use it to collect views from Kenyans about the proposed constitutional amendments.
“How can you take views from more than 3,000 people in a rally and correctly capture what they have said. The only committee tasked to collect views from the public is the one gazetted by President Kenyatta," he added.
Former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale claimed that the forums are intended to mutilate the BBI report that was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Bomas of Kenya last year.