Economist David Ndii revealed that President William Ruto quietly funded the opposition to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
A public spat between David Ndii and Martha Karua revealed Ruto's hidden hand in the defeat of Uhuru Kenyatta's legacy project
A collage of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, David Ndii, and President William Ruto
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BBI was a proposed set of amendments to the constitution spearheaded by former President Uhuru Kenyatta
Ndii, currently the chairperson of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, said President Ruto, who was Kenyatta's deputy at the time, supported Linda Katiba, which challenged the BBI proposal's constitutionality.
David Ndii
Pulse Live Kenya
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David Ndii went on to claim that at the time, Martha Karua was Boniface Mwangi were part of the initiative.
However, in a rebuttal, Karua said that when she was engaged with Linda Katiba, the members contributed their resources to fund the initiative and by the time Ndii got Ruto to support the cause, she was no longer a part of it.
“I am disappointed you have joined the ranks of unmitigated liars. Throughout our collaboration in Linda Katiba you never disclosed any funding from William Ruto or anybody else.
"We contributed for our expenses until towards the end when we secured funding from a philanthropist. If at all William Ruto funded you it was your own private affair,” Karua responded.
NARC Kenya Leader Martha Karua
NARC Kenya Leader Martha Karua
Pulse Live Kenya
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She also highlighted that Boniface Mwangi sacrificed his resources and was not refunded by the time he left the group.
In his defence, Boniface Mwangi said: "David Ndii I’m ashamed that a man of your stature would stoop this low to malign my name. You know that I volunteered my time and resources to Linda Katiba.
“I even hosted and fed you in my home. You weren’t even in the meeting where Linda Katiba’s name was coined. If you collected money from William Ruto using my name, please account for it.”
Martha Karua and Boniface Mwangi
Martha Karua and Boniface Mwangi
Pulse Live Kenya
Karua went on to say that she found it difficult to work with Ruto and made it very clear.
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Ndii responded by claiming that Karua did not have a stand, having become Raila Odinga’s running mate despite being among his strongest critics.
“Let me remind the Iron Lady that in run up to 2017, I approached her to join what became NASA and she said she couldn't work with Raila, citing 2007, same reasons as what they are doing together today. Moral pedestal is never a safe political perch,” Ndii said.
Karua answered that she was already working with Odinga as a friend of CORD from 2014 to 2017.
