Planners of the Buiding Bridges Initiative (BBI) consultative meeting in Mombasa have announced change of venue from Tononoka Grounds to Mama Ngina Waterfront.
The declaration was made on Friday by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga ahead of the rally set for tomorrow, January 25.
Odinga was speaking during the coastal region BBI Delegates Forum at the Wild Waters. The event was hosted by Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho.
The leaders reportedly cited capacity concerns as reason for the last minute changes.
They argued that Mama Ngina Waterfront, which hosted last year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations, has a bigger capacity that will accommodate the huge crowd expected to attend the function.
Read: Rowdy Youth Disrupt Aisha Jumwa, Mohammed Ali’s Press Briefing On BBI [Video]
Earlier, drama was witnessed in the region after rowdy youth disrupted a press conference by Deputy President William Ruto’s allies.
Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa and her Nyali counterpart Mohammed Ali were forced to cut their speech short after they were pelted with stones.
Jumwa had just begun making her remarks by saying that there won’t be any showdown during the rallies. She was taken aback following the invasion.
Read Also: Murkomen Claims He Has Been Threatened Ahead Of BBI Rally In Mombasa
Ali castigated a sectional of leaders in the region including Governor Joho accusing them of paying goons to assault Jumwa.
“She has the right like any person to speak her mind, you can’t assault a woman leader for voicing her concerns, ” said Ali.
He stated that the leaders won’t be cowed and will attend the BBI meeting tomorrow.
Jumwa and Ali are among leaders in Jubilee’s Tanga Tanga faction that recently changed tune on boycotting BBI rallies countrywide.
Read Also: DP Ruto Tears Into Raila Over Publicized “Permission” To Attend BBI Rallies
On Tuesday, Senate majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen led a section of the DP’s allies to declare that they would attend the rallies and if possible take charge in some functions.
The leaders said they are not opposed to BBI but the use of state resources to fund the rallies.
“We are opposed to the use of public funds in the organized BBI rallies unless appropriated by Parliament or county assemblies. Our participation and organisation of BBI rallies shall be through personal contributions,” Murkomen said in his statement.
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