NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has poured cold water on the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) process, warning that it could collapse in the same way as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
In a statement on Tuesday, Kuria said he had initially hoped NADCO would culminate in a national referendum, possibly as a seventh ballot during the 2027 General Elections.
“I was clinging to the hope that the NADCO process will culminate in a referendum, most likely as the 7th ballot during the 2027 General Elections,” he said.
I was clinging to the hope that the NADCO process will culminate in a referendum, most likely as the 7th ballot during the 2027 General Elections. Why? Because as I have said before we have a malignant tumour in our body politic which we keep trying to heal through anaesthesia
His remarks came a day after President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga jointly addressed a Parliamentary Group meeting in Nairobi, rallying lawmakers to back the NADCO framework.
But Kuria accused Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) of hijacking what could have been a historic reform moment and turning it into a partisan settlement.
“Sadly, what I saw yesterday was an otherwise promising national moment being reduced to a dowry paid by UDA to ODM. Not even other constituent parties in both Azimio and Kenya Kwanza were consulted,” Kuria said.
The outspoken former CS likened NADCO to previous political settlements that failed to take root, most notably the BBI.
“We are treading on a trodden path littered with corpses like BBI. The last chapter of NADCO will be a replica of BBI,” he cautioned.
The BBI process, born out of the 2018 handshake between then-President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, sought sweeping constitutional changes but was declared unconstitutional by the courts in 2021.
Kuria’s remarks highlight simmering tensions around NADCO, with critics warning that the process could be undermined by partisan interests rather than delivering lasting reforms.
