Work on strategy to pull troops from Somalia, Raila tells Govt

Kenya: CORD leader Raila Odinga has called on the Government to work on a strategy to pull Kenyan troops out of Somalia as a way to curb insecurity crisis facing the country.

While speaking during the second annual Devolution Conference in Kisumu, Raila said that CORD is supportive of efforts the Government is employing to deal with terrorism.

“I am not saying we pull out troops out of Somalia right now, but we should agree on an exit strategy,” said Raila, addressing the over 6,000 participants in the conference.

Raila told President Uhuru Kenyatta, who officially opened the four-day event, to crack whip on insecurity saying some issues were not being handled in the right way.

Raila wondered why it took over six hours to transport anti-terror squad to Garissa University on the day when terrorists killed 148 people in the April 2 dawn attack.

He however did not comment on the construction of the Kenya-Somalia border wall which several opposition leaders have been campaigning against.

The Opposition leader lauded the fruits achieved through devolution, saying the system of governance is changing lives in ways never imagined before.

“Those who voted for and against the new Constitution are all benefitting from the fruits of devolution,” said Raila.

Raila also revisited the discussion of dialogue, saying that the Government must address devolution in a bipartisan way.