National Super Alliance (NASA) co-principals have urged Wajir County voters to reject Jubilee during the August poll, saying it had marginalised the region.
Speaking in Wajir on Saturday, NASA co-principals Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula asked voters in the region to elect visionary leader rather than those who claim they had fostered development but had nothing to show for it.
“When I was in the coalition government with President Kibaki, we created a ministry that was solely responsible for the development of this region and appointed Mohammed Elmi who is from here to take charge,” said Raila.
Raila said the Somali community had not benefited under Jubilee which has resisted calls to implement the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) report which investigated historical injustices perpetrated against people from the region. The Orange Democratic Movement leader said there must be justice for the 5,000 people killed by state troops during the Wagalla massacre, and noted that this was a pledge they were determined to fulfil when elected.
Seeking orders
“All those affected by the injustices will be compensated because the Jubilee government has refused to implement the TJRC report,” Raila noted even as he dismissed ODM MPs from the region who recently defected to Jubilee. He singled out Eldas MP Adan Keynan and his Tarbaj counterpart Mohammed Elmi who walked out with 20 ward representatives.
“Keynan and Elmi have created problems for themselves by going to Jubilee. I’m asking Wajir people to show them that Wajir is NASA by sending them home,” he said.
Speaking at the rally, Wetang’ula lauded Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi for staying firmly in NASA.
“We will continue to push our agenda as a united team until we push the Jubilee team out of power and the governor and the people of Wajir are with us in this journey,” said the Ford Kenya leader. The leaders also criticised an attempt by an NGO to have it give up the NASA acronym, in response to a report the group had gone to court claiming ownership of the name.
“The name belongs to a majority of Kenyans who support change,” noted Mudavadi. “The NASA name does not belong to Raila, Wetang’ula or Kalonzo, it belongs to all Kenyans. Why haven’t other institutions like Jubilee Insurance sued Jubilee Party because of the name?” he asked.
The Northern Advocacy for Sustainable Agriculture, that also goes by the acronym NASA, on Friday filed a petition in the High Court seeking orders to stop the opposition from using that name.
The opposition leaders claimed that the NGO was working for Jubilee.
Kalonzo criticised National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale for not standing up for his people.
“Duale has a responsibility to ensure that the mass killings that occurred in Wagalla are addressed so that the people of this region can get justice,” Kalonzo said.
The Wiper leader said the government was now targeting opposition leaders for arrest because it has sensed it would lose in the election. He criticised an incident where a rally that was to be convened by Mombasa Governor Ali Hasan Joho was cancelled because it was too close to Tononoka grounds where President Uhuru Kenyatta was scheduled to address residents.
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi told residents that the Jubilee government had done little to tackle poverty.
Present at the rally were Abdullahi Diriye (Wajir North), Fatuma Ibrahim (Wajir Women Representatve), Farah Maalim, Aisha Jumwa (Kilifi Women Representative), Mishi Mboko (Mombasa Women Representative), James Orengo (Siaya), Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini), Ayub Savula (Lugari) and Sakwa Bunyasi (Nambale) among others.
