By David Ochami and Tobias Chanji
It appears the Mombasa Republican Council is one topic presidential seat candidates will try walk about as if it were eggshells.
Whereas MRC’s call for secession under the banner of Pwani si Kenya
( Coast is not in Kenya), which is criminal and unconstitutional, candidates for fear of losing votes ?nd a way of condemning this call without calling for action on its proponents.
That is the delicate path Prime Minister Raila Odinga walked on in the Coast Sunday, balancing criticism of MRC’s secessionist calls against the need for the movement’s grievances to be peacefully addressed.
The last time Raila was at the Coastcanvassing for votes, he said MRC spoke his ‘political language’, given that the historical injustices and land alienation it was complaining about, were part of the transgressions and violations of human rights that he has always condemned.
Raila was categorical whereas he opposes the agenda of the separatists, he also believes the separatists should not be confronted with force rather, “we need to address the root causes of their calls to separate from Kenya.”
He revealed MRC would soon be invited for a stakeholder’s conference co-ordinated by a task force in his office.
He also advised the movement that the Coast’s development challenges would not be solved through secession. He was addressing rallies at Tiribe, Tiwi, Government Training Centre, Kombani, Ngombeni and Likoni in Kwale County.
He advised them that the Constitution and its devolution programme offer a framework to solve some of the Coast’s problems. Raila who began his tour in Kilifi County and Kinango constituency on Saturday was in Kwale County where he addressed Orange Democratic Movement leaders and supporters, urging them to support his third presidential bid.
At all the rallies Raila who was accompanied by ODM chairman Henry Kosgey announced, “there will be no favoured candidates” at his party’s primaries.
This was in response to fears raised by several Coastal aspirants last Saturday that ODM nomination primaries could be ‘fixed’ to favour selected candidates.
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