Kenyans in the diaspora clash over Raila's swearing-in

Supporters of both National super alliance (NASA) Coalition and the ruling party Jubilee living in the US have disagreed on the oncoming swearing-in of Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka as President and Deputy President respectively.

Raila is set to take the oath of office tomorrow on Tuesday, January 30 after postponing the ceremony twice, first on November 28 and December 12 last year.

In a statement issued by issued by Barack Wekulo, Ben Kipng’etich, Salim Mngolia and Dan Ogindo for Nasa USA Diaspora Team, Raila should take oath as he rightfully won the August 8, 2017, elections. This they say will put an end to corrupt cartels and place it into the people’s hands where it constitutionally belongs.

 “The Kenyan community in Diaspora that demands real democracy in Kenya supports the creation of People’s Assemblies and the swearing-in of Raila Odinga,” read part of the statement.

They argue that in order for the country to be stable, fair, united and prosperous, electoral justice should first prevail. They believe that many people voted for Raila to be president on August 8, 2017, but the corrupt cartels under Jubilee through the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) manipulated and altered the results to show otherwise.

Their Jubilee counterparts, on the other hand, say that by taking the oath, Raila will be throwing the county into a state of chaos. They said it is wrong for the NASA supporters in the diaspora to support the ceremony which they termed as an illegal move meant to divide Kenyans further.

In their statement, the Jubilee supporters said that although they support dialogue, it should take place under established constitutional structures, by elected bodies or through a national referendum. According to them, Kenyans should not give in to coercion by the international community to reward bullies and leaders of genocide.

In their statement signed by the statement signed by Eng. John Kamau of Phoenix, Az, National Resistance Movement (NRM), a wing of NASA, is a forbidden body which is against the law.

“As Kenyans from all the 51 US states, we wish to categorically affirm that we subscribe to the rule of law. NRM is proscribed under Kenyan laws. All its concepts and ideologies, which espouse rising up against a constitutionally established government is in contravention of the laws of Kenya,” the statement read. Raila is set to take oath since his party insists he won in the August presidential race although they disputed the results leading to a repeat poll on October 26. The Supreme Court responded to their petition by nullifying the August 8 results in September and ordering IEBC to organize for the second poll.

NASA then refused to take part in the second poll, saying there had to be electoral reforms in the Commission before planning. IEBC went ahead and conducted the elections where Uhuru was pronounced winner again. He was later inaugurated on November 28 with William Ruto as his Deputy.