Cause of Saitoti plane crash will be known, Raila says

By PMPS and Athman Amran

Prime Minister Raila Odinga expressed confidence the the cause of the plane crash in which Cabinet minister George Saitoti, his Assistant Orwa Ojode and four police officers were killed will be known.

He said the Government was determined to ensure the cause of the ministers’ death is not swept under the carpet. Addressing leaders from Kajiado North constituency, the PM said Kenyans do not want Saitoti’s death to remain a mystery like previous assassinations since independence, including those of Pio Gama Pinto, J M Kariuki, and Robert Ouko.

He reiterated that in 2009 he entered into a memorandum of understanding to work with Saitoti in the coming General Election, adding that they would have made the collaboration public in October.

“So when people were trying to associate him with G7, we just laughed at their misconceived ideas,” he added.

Uphold unity

Raila, who later made stopovers at various centres in Kajiado North constituency, urged residents to uphold unity even as they head towards the September 17 by-election.

He said the area was cosmopolitan and asked voters to elect someone who will be a unifying leader. The PM who is also the ODM party leader introduced the party candidate in the September by-election Peter ole Mositet, saying he was the best placed person to take over leadership mantle in Kajiado North.

Noting the Kajiado North by election is a test run for the General Election scheduled for March 4, the PM advised the electorate in the area to vote wisely as it will be an indicator of voting patterns in the General Election.

 “Huu ni mchujo. Uchaguguzi ujao utakuwa ni mama (these are preliminaries, the coming elections would be the mother),” Raila said the coming elections would be a race between reformers and non-reformers.

The PM said there were those who were against the new Constitution giving many excuses including claims that Kenyans would lose their land.

“The work of the implementation of the new Constitution has just begun. There are some who do not want to see the new Constitution progress,” Raila said.