Devolve issuance of ID cards, Raila Odinga tells State

CORD leaders led by the Former Prime-Minister Raila Odinga(right) and Kalonzo Musyoka address the press on the alleged fake signatures collected for the Okoa Kenya referendum. PHOTO BY PIUS CHERUIYOT

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) has lined up a series of rallies beginning this weekend in Nairobi.

The rallies aim to push for electoral reforms and devolved issuance of identity cards.

CORD leaders Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula are expected at the Kamukunji grounds on Saturday to reaffirm their unity. It will be their first public meeting together since the friction that was caused when Raila skipped Wetang’ula’s presidential bid launch in Kakamega that turned chaotic.

The Kamukunji rally is expected to lay the ground for a campaign to pressure the Independent Election and boundaries Commission (IEBC) to exit office over alleged bias.

Yesterday, Raila decried the partisan issuance of identity cards in parts of the country, claiming it was part of a grand scheme to favour Jubilee strongholds.

“We call for devolved issuance of identity cards to the locational level under supervision of county governments in order to allow many applicants acquire the documents faster,” Raila said after meeting leaders from Eastleigh business community at Orange House. He said in many parts of the country, immigration offices and the Huduma centres consistently claimed they did not have materials to capture data on new applicants. In other cases, applicants receive ID cards with wrong names or wrong photos. The Somali leaders complained about what they termed as “deliberate delays” and frustrations in acquiring ID cards.

Okoa Kenya

Raila was accompanied by Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, former Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed.

Meanwhile, CORD will storm the electoral agency next week over the collapsed ‘Okoa Kenya’ referendum drive.

The Coalition Management Co-chairs Senators James Orengo (Siaya) and Johnstone Muthama (Machakos) said they will occupy the offices of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission next Monday.

According to the duo, the electoral agency has chosen to ignore their “polite requests” on the ‘Okoa Kenya’ referendum initiative.

The Opposition also challenged President Uhuru Kenyatta to follow the law in his quest to withdraw Kenya from the Rome statute that created the International Criminal Court.