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 theCoast 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.

Those in his entourage included Cabinet ministers Amason Kingi, James Orengo and Anyang Nyong’o.

The other MPs present were: Gideon Mung’aro, Ali Hassan Joho, Thomas Mwadeghu, Pollyns Ochieng, Jakoyo Midiwo, Martin Ogindo, Cyprian Omollo and Omar Zonga.

Also present was Assistant minister Ramadhan Kajembe who is also MP for Changamwe.

Forced marriage

Raila, who started his tour by celebrating ODM’s recent win of Kaliang’ombe civic seat in a by-election left Coast Province last evening having convinced Kinango MP Gonzi Rai of Ford People to join ODM and support his presidential bid.

Retired judge Stewart Madzayo also joined ODM and described Raila as “the only Kenyan leader alive who can transform Kenya and also implement the new Constitution.”

The PM promised transparent primaries and announced that a new electoral body within his party had been formed to manage them.

 He also said his party has been unable to fulfill its pre-election pledges due to the disputes over the 2007 election that led to the power-sharing arrangement which he equated to a “forced marriage”.

He described ODM as the “torch bearer of the reform agenda” and added he would require a clear mandate to govern in order to rule if elected. “No one should harbour a sense of self-entitlement in the primaries,” declared Raila.

Regarding separatism at the Coast, Raila said as a consumer of the security Intelligence Report, “I was the first to call for negotiations with Mombasa Republican Council because I believed force would foster resentment. We need to address the root causes of their separatism.”

According to the premier, separatism at the Coast has been spurred by years of neglect and injustice that began before independence and grew worse thereafter. But he argued no country was immune to such challenges.  But he acknowledged Coast Province had specific problems that require special attention and said the ODM’s new manifesto addresses the problems of each County separately.

“We cannot encourage them (local people) to self-destruct,” said Raila referring to the MRC.

He also said the call for separatism was based on a wrong premise and an agreement between the first President Jomo Kenyatta and late Sultan of Zanzibar. Raila argued the agreement referred to only the Ten-Mile-Strip from the Coastline and is no longer relevant to the Miji Kenda today, contrary to MRC’s argument.

Key concern

 “The agreement was signed for the ten-mile strip not for the whole of Coast Province,” the PM added. He added the agreement became irrelevant because the Sultan of Zanzibar was overthrown in a popular revolution early 1964 that ended the sultanate.

“After the Sultan was overthrown he fled to the United Kingdom where he died and Zanzibar became part of the Republic of Tanzania,” he went on. Former Matuga MP Boy Juma Boy told the PM’s rally at GTI that MRC’s influence was raising concern over the feasibility of free polls in Kwale and called for direct negotiations with government.

Mung’aro said ODM had fought for devolution and self-governance at the local level against the wishes of other political parties and said Raila should be elected to implement the Constitution.

Party primaries

Islamic scholar Sheikh Juma Ngao said the separatist agenda preached by MRC does not serve the interests of Miji Kenda in the present age and urged local people to reject calls by MRC to boycott next year’s elections.

Orengo said National Land Commission has power under the new Constitution to audit all land titles issued in Kenya including those issued before First World War.

He also said that the government would no longer issued group titles to co-operative societies in Kwale County and other parts of Coast Province.

Raila said ODM’s National Delegates Conference will ratify the party new manifesto and disclosed its new electoral body will establish branches at the grassroots to facilitate nomination primaries.