Raila Odinga plotting to reject the 2017 poll outcome, Jubilee MPs claim

TNA Chairman Johnston Sakaja, Leader of Majority in Parliament Aden Duale and Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen addressing members of the press at a Nairobi hotel. PHOTO: FIDELS KABUNYI

NAIROBI: CORD leader Raila Odinga has sensed defeat come 2017 and is preparing his supporters to reject the outcome of the elections, Jubilee MPs have claimed.

The more than 10 lawmakers claimed that Raila has already developed cold feet. They were reacting to Raila’s ‘State of the Nation Address’ on Tuesday in which he alleged a scheme to rig the polls, due in 18 months.

National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale said: “Whenever this county gets to elections, Raila Odinga driven by an overwhelming sense of defeat begins to make wild, irresponsible and unsubstantiated statements to create fear and panic.”

Raila in his address accused the Jubilee administration of killing independent commissions and warned that his coalition will not accept elections that are not free and fair.
The CORD leader in his address accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of intentionally refusing to address electoral infrastructure, noting that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has a serious credibility crisis.

He emphasised that the Opposition cannot risk another election that does not enjoy the confidence of all parties.

But yesterday, TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja summarised the former Prime Minister’s address as “a concession speech of an election he believes he has lost and a covert attempt to prepare the country for violence”.

UNWARRANTED ATTACKS

“We want to warn the CORD and Raila in particular that their scheme to cause mayhem and chaos will not succeed,” Sakaja said.

“This is nothing new of the Raila we know. Cheap theatrics and crying wolf are an integral part of his brand. His unwarranted attacks on IEBC, Judiciary and Executive are aimed at creating a credibility crisis,” Mr Sakaja said.

Among the leaders present at the press briefing were Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen. MPs present included Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso (Sotik), Dennis Waweru (Dagoretti South), Maina Kamanda (Starahe),  Kamau Ichungwa (Kikuyu), Alice Ng’ang’a (Thika Town) and Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi).

Duale defended the Jubilee administration, saying no other Government since independence has waged a sustained war against corruption.

“For the first time in the history of Kenya, the President has personally rallied the country, government, private sector and all others in the fight against corruption,” he said.

He added: “The Government has provided more funding to institutions such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Auditor General’s office to boost their capacity resulting to the prosecution of over 375 graft cases.”

Earlier, State House had accused Raila of creating the groundwork for violence in the 2017 polls by accusing the Jubilee government of planning to steal elections.

In a statement, the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit said CORD attacks on the elections body, the Judiciary and the Executive are aimed at fomenting a deadly crisis like the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

“CORD’s prospects in the next elections are proving thin indeed. As a result, CORD is resorting to an old Odinga repertory of ethnic profiling, gratuitous libelling of important institutions with the aim of pre-emptively delegitimising the clearly predictable outcome of the next election,” it said.

ELECTION Violence

The PSCU statement claimed that Raila is activating a sequence aimed at creating a crisis for him to force his way to the power-sharing table in 2017. The statement claimed that the 2007-2008 post-election violence was instigated under a “No Raila, No Peace” slogan, which enabled Odinga to become Prime Minister. They said peace only came to the country when Odinga was designated Prime Minister.

“Jubilee is not taking Kenya back to 1991 as Odinga claims. CORD is taking Kenya back to 2007. Odinga is desperately beating his drums of war. He is harkening back to ‘No Raila, No Peace’!”

On the issue of the formation of a National Jubilee Party, Duale accused the ODM boss of being a ‘merchant of ethnicity’.

He explained that the Jubilee party is meant to bring Kenyans together and end ethnic balkanisation, a fact according to the Garissa Township leader that is a threat to Raila’s political future.

“His political philosophy is ethnic. He is the single greatest beneficiary of negative ethnic politics. The desire by Kenyans for unity and subsequent success of the formation of the Jubilee party has dawned on CORD that their ethnic enterprise is destined for failure,” said Duale.