Ruto has antagonised neighbours, Raila says

President William Ruto having bilateral talks with his counterpart from Rwanda Paul Kagame on the sidelines of COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh Egypt on November 06, 2022. [PCS]

Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday hit out at the Kenya kwanza administration over what he termed as a straining of diplomatic relations between Kenya and other countries in the East African Community (EAC).

In a statement, Raila said EAC leaders did not attend Jamhuri Day celebrations due to the falling out caused by the Kenya Kwanza administration.

He accused President William Ruto’s administration of perpetrating a series of blunders such as opening a legal battle with Uganda and the recent inflammatory remarks by Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen on Rwanda.

“None of our neighbouring EAC countries were represented at the level of President, Vice President or Prime Minister as would have been expected in such a significant occasion that has been the tradition until we have taken it for granted,” he stated.

“We must tell Kenyans that our neighbours are not to blame for this negative development in our relationship. At the centre of the continuing damage of our relationship in EAC is the unbridled greed and corruption as practised by the Ruto government and the arrogance and foul mouth that has come with it.”

On Uganda dispute, the Azimio la Umoja Coalition leader said: “Uganda has been forced to go to the High Court in Kenya through its Uganda Petroleum Company to challenge a formula instigated by the Kenya Kwanza cartel that forces the sovereign state of Uganda to have its petroleum products transiting through Kenya to pay a “middleman” fee.”

Raila said the actions of the Kenya Kwanza government undermine the letter and the spirit of the EAC treaty.

“To waylay our land-locked neighbours who have used Kenya as their preferred route for import and export may hurt the neighbours now, but Kenya will pay the price in the long run.”

Speaking separately, Azimio parliamentary leader Opiyo Wandayi asked President Ruto to pronounce himself on the activities of Democratic Republic of Congo rebels operating in the country, saying they threaten a diplomatic crisis between the two nations.

The National Assembly Minority Leader referred to a recent press conference in Nairobi by DRC rebel leaders, where they announced the formation of a new coalition led by the former president of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Corneille Nangaa.

Mr Wandayi was concerned that with only a day to the DRC elections, no explanation had been given by the Kenya Kwanza administration on what the rebel groups were doing in the country and why they had been given a platform to state their agenda.

“We find it extremely disturbing that while the DRC is planning to hold elections, Kenya would allow well-known Congolese rebels and armed militants to announce, right in the heart of Nairobi, the launch of a political-military alliance that includes M23 rebels and other armed groups, in order to destabilise DRC,” he said.

Speaking in Nairobiyesterday, Wandayi poked holes into a statement issued by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi where he said the country had no hand in the organization and outcome of the presser and that investigations into their activities were ongoing.

He accused the governmen of burying its head in the sand and feigning ignorance on the matter.

[email protected]

, warning that the “move portends serious political and diplomatic ramifications if not exhaustively addressed”.

“Why was the head of M23 rebel movement allowed in Nairobi when Kenyan troops were battling his soldiers in Eastern Congo? Is the Ruto regime double dealing in the DRC? Who allowed Mr. Bisimiwa into the country and for what purposes?” he posed.

He further sought to know whether the rebel leaders had been arrested, deported or were being protected by the State.

“Just how many leaders of the rebel movement in Eastern DRC and other parts of the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa are operating in Nairobi? When Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi says Kenya will work to identify the persons behind the Congo River Alliance declaration in Nairobi and possible violations of free speech provisions, what exactly does he mean? Does he mean the government of Kenya does not know Nangaa and Bisimiwa who were at the press conference?” he said.

Wandayi noted that the rebels’ activities were coming a time Kenya’s neighbours, some who in the past saw Nairobi as a neutral and safe arbiter in regional conflicts, have rejected attempts by the Kenya Kwanza top leadership to engage in their affairs.  

He called on the President to come clean on the elections taking place in the DRC and the plans with the rebels during and after the elections, lest the dalliance with the rebels be interpreted to mean his regime was keen on taking the country to the ranks of nations that work against the interests of neighbours, including friendly ones.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta also condemned the rebel alliance. “I repudiate these developments, particularly their military character, and the accompanying politically charged and provocative rhetoric,” he said on Monday.