'Burning bridges' tweet a revelation of IEBC mindset, says Orengo

 

Senate Minority leader James Orengo has described the recent IEBC tweet referring to the BBI as the ‘Burning’ Bridges Initiative as no innocent mistake but a revelation of its mindset.

The Siaya senator, a close ally of ODM leader Raila Odinga, said the tweet, which was pulled down by the electoral agency, was not a typo as Kenyans are made to believe.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Wednesday tweeted the offending statement and immediately pulled it down and apologised.

“Happening now: The launch of the Burning Bridges Initiative Supporters Verification Exercise at the Bomas of Kenya,” the tweet read.

It was posted on a day IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati led the launch of the BBI signatures verification exercise.

The tweet caused an uproar among Kenyans on Twitter, forcing the commission to apologise, saying it was an error.

“Earlier today, the commission posted a tweet on the launch of the verification of BBI supporters. However, there was a typographical error in the tweet which was made inadvertently. The error does NOT in any way reflect the position of the commission or its staff.

"The commission sincerely apologises to all its stakeholders and the general public," it said.

But Orengo has insisted that the tweet was not an innocent mistake, adding that it revealed the commission’s subconscious feelings about the proposed constitutional amendment.

“The tweet about BBI by the IEBC was more than a simple Freudian Slip. It was a glaring exposition of the mindset of the commission,” the lawmaker said.

"It was not without significance that I described it as a criminal enterprise some time back. I have not changed my views an iota.”