CORD, Jubilee at odds over Raila Odinga’s call for election

NAIROBI: The storm sparked by Raila Odinga’s call to President Uhuru Kenyatta to push for an early General Election rages on even with the Opposition leader thousands of miles away in China.

Raila, who is on a 10-day visit to China for the 10th World Eminent Chinese Entrepreneur Congress, lit the fuse with his declaration that the President should call fresh elections “to save the country from total collapse” days after launching a referendum bid that has infuriated the Government.

Sunday, Deputy President William Ruto dismissed Raila’s demand for early elections as a “misguided call by a government critic who could not see anything good in Jubilee”.

“They (CORD) have a warped mentality. They have no idea what Kenya needs and where Kenyans want to go. Leaders are God-given and elections only identify those whom He has chosen,” Ruto said Sunday at the Methodist Church in Kinoru, Meru.

Other Jubilee leaders weighed in dismissing Raila’s activities as premature launch of his fourth presidential bid.

But Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leaders cautioned Jubilee against linking their push for a referendum to Raila’s presidential ambition.

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Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o said the reaction by the ruling coalition’s leaders is not surprising, “as they are not used to facing issues head-on”. “They are burying their heads in the sand, like the proverbial ostrich, and looking for scapegoats since they got into power by default,” said Nyong’o.

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale charged that it was President Kenyatta who was using his position to plot for re-election in 2017.

“As leaders we always plot for our re-election as evidenced by Uhuru himself recently attempting to break fresh ground in Western Kenya,” said Khalwale, alluding to the nomination of New Ford-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa to Cabinet. “Electoral reforms are just but one of the referendum issues.”

The Orange Democratic Movement Chairman and Suba MP John Mbadi said while it is an open secret that Raila would be gunning for the presidency in 2017, the launch of the Okoa Kenya Bill last week was a different matter.

“This is not a purely Raila initiative, but a coalition thing together with other partners including the civil society groups and did not start yesterday,” said Mbadi.

“We should look at what Raila is calling for such as increased allocation to counties based on the current projected revenues and not politicising the debate,” he added, but supported calls for early elections. “Elections should be carried out immediately since the Government organs have failed due to incompetent officers holding positions and exposing the president badly.”

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma said the referendum is about entrenching good governance in Kenya.

But Jubilee Alliance Party Vice Chairman David Murathe and the Leader of the Majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale, led the chorus of those hitting out at Raila.

“I want to tell Raila to forget any election before 2017. If he wants to get power, let him wait until that time comes. In any case, CORD should wait until the 20 years of Jubilee are over to see if they have any chances of getting to power,” Duale said.

GRAFT LIST

Deputy Majority Leader Naomi Shaban challenged Raila to explain the decisions made when he was Prime Minister which she alleged had returned to haunt the country, including training Kenyan Somalis at the Kenya Wildlife Service facility in Manyani to aid the Somali army in its fight against Al-Shabaab. “On corruption Raila should tell us what Karoli Omondi and James Orengo are doing in the graft list,” she said.

Duale scoffed at Raila’s demand, saying it was now clear the Opposition leader was running out of ideas and revealing his true colours. “We want to remind him that Kenya is not a banana republic but a constitutional democracy that holds elections after every five years,” Duale said.

TNA Chairman Johnson Sakaja and Starehe MP Maina Kamanda said they were not worried by Raila’s calls saying they are used to his tactics. “They should remember that under the new Constitution, the President has no role in calling for elections,” Sakaja said.

Kamanda said “that is the work of an Opposition leader and we are not worried with his demands”.

On claims the Government had failed in the war on corruption, Duale and Sakaja said even Opposition MPs gave the President a standing ovation when he made a bold move to table the list in the House.

MPs David Bowen (Marakwet East) and Jackson Kiptanui (Keiyo South) said Okoa Kenya was meant to popularise Raila ahead of 2107.

“As it is now we shall not support the Okoa Kenya initiative unless the Bill is amended to include sections on security,” said Bowen.

Kiptanui said: “Time is not yet ripe for the Constitution to be amended because the country is faced with other pertinent issues which need more attention than campaigns for a referendum.”

—Additional reporting by Fred Kibor