Diaspora to move to court over voting

By Chris Wamalwa-USA

Kenyans living abroad were angered by the news that they will not be voting in the forthcoming elections despite numerous assurances in the past by government officials and IEBC that their constitutional right to vote will be safeguarded.

Upset Kenyans living in the US have instructed their lawyers in Kenya to move to court immediately to contest the decision, terming the pronouncement by Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa as illegal, ill conceived and ill timed.

In an unprecedented reaction, that compares only to how they reacted following the eruption of clashes in Kenya soon after the bungled presidential elections in December, 2007, Kenyans living in the US were all united in condemning the move terming it draconian and vowed to oppose it.

The social media was yesterday awash with angry reactions that some analysts believe will galvanize the otherwise fractured and tribally balkanized Diaspora into developing a common front.

The Government on Tuesday said it was not practical to enlist Kenyans living abroad and have them take part in the March 4 polls, as this would require some logistical preparations that are not yet in place.

Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa further said financial challenges coupled with the time constraints would not allow the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to register Kenyans in the Diaspora and have them take part in the polls.

Wamalwa told Parliament that Cabinet had last Thursday deliberated over the issue and agreed that the earliest that Kenyans living abroad can take part in the electoral process would only be in the 2017 polls after all required plans are put in place to ensure credibility of the process.

He said that despite the Constitution granting this constituency the rights to vote, the High Court had ruled that the same would only be done progressively, a position Cabinet had exploited to first ensure that all plans are in place, complete with guarantee of a credible voter registration exercise.

“It is very sad that Kenyan politicians, who have been harvesting money from Kenyans abroad, find it easy to deny them a voice in running the affairs of Kenya. To this we say no. Most presidential candidates and cabinet ministers have been abroad on fund raising missions. It is immoral to exploit money from people whose opinion one has no regard for” Said Professor Fulbert Namwamba of Louisiana.

Amos Wasike of Baltimore, Maryland said he had a lot of misgivings from the day the IEBC visited the US on the so-called fact finding mission. “They kept on insisting on progressive voting in a way that left no doubt in mind that they were not committed to the issue. One wonders why they wasted the tax payers’ money on frivolous trips”.

Doctor Odotte of Pennsylvania said the IEBC never demonstrated due diligence in ensuring that Diaspora voting took place. “They never carried out any expert analysis or studies on what the logistical or administrative obstacles were likely to be because they knew exactly what they were doing”. He said.

Odotte however took issue with what he termed as ‘chronic passiveness’ from people in Diaspora. “I am surprised at the belated outrage from Kenyans abroad now that the gavel has come down on their right to vote. Where were they when petitions that needed to be signed were being circulated” He asked.