No more MoUs, Muslims say

By ATHMAN AMRAN

Muslims will have a political vehicle for the 2012 General Election, Cabinet ministers Najib Balala and Chirau Ali Mwakwere have said.

The two ministers, however, insisted they were not intending to form an Islamic party.

"If there are alliances of tribes, why not Muslims? As Muslims we do not have tribes," Balala, who is the Tourism minister, said at the Sixth Annual National Convention organised by the National Muslim Leaders Forum at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, yesterday.

Defence Minister, Yusuf Haji, nominated MP, Sheikh Mohammad Dor, and Mandera East MP, Abdikadir Mohamed, also attended the meeting.

Shared power

Balala said it was time Muslims were respected and shared power.

"We want to be part of the coalitions of the future. There is no single community or leader that can lead the country," Balala said.

He said in 2007, Muslims signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ODM. There would be no more MoUs, but Memorandums of Agreement with the new Muslim outfit.

"This is because if we do not agree with out partners we would know how to move out. I believe this is the way we should go," Balala said.

Mwakwere said Muslims have to view this as a new beginning. He said Muslims should move as a caucus and support those who mean well.

"That is the route we must take," Mwakwere said.

"We should know who is for us and who is against us," Balala said. The minister said Muslims should have a mechanism of dialogue.

Balala said politics was about numbers and Muslims can use their numbers positively to influence change.

The Tourism minister also said it was time to seek reforms of the Kadhi courts.

Judicial system

"It is not about the little subordinate court of the Government," Balala said, arguing that if the judicial system was undergoing reforms, the same should happen to the Kadhi courts.

He said there was need for the recruitment of more Kadhis and to ensure the kadhi offices and chambers are well staffed.

Balala said the retention of the Kadhi courts in the Constitution was about recognising the Muslim community, as it sacrificed the 10-mile strip for the sake of unity, and allowing the rest of the country to have access to the Indian Ocean.