Itumbi, the Secretary for Innovation, Digital and Diaspora Communication in the Office of the President in a tweet on Thursday said the best thing that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) can address is elections.
He noted that leaders who accept defeat are what Kenya needs citing that retired President Mwai Kibaki accepted defeated in 2005, Deputy William Ruto conceded in 2010 and Jubilee candidate for the Kibra by-election McDonald Mariga did the same in 2019.
“Losing elections and accepting the results is the best BBI that can ever be. In 2002, Uhuru conceded. No fight. In 2005, Kibaki conceded. No fight. In 2010, @WilliamsRuto conceded. No fight. In 2019, Mariga conceded. (Despite during-elections violence.) As a result, no PEV,” he tweeted.
The remarks come against the backdrop of the BBI report debate. President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday during the launch of the report at the Bomas of Kenya revisited this topic saying he conceded defeat in 2022.
He said that BBI, by and large, should address issues associated with electoral violence, some of which are brought about by candidates not accepting defeat.
In the hotly contested 2017 presidential polls, skirmishes were reported in some opposition strongholds as Uhuru's competitor at the time, Raila, held that the elections were rigged.