CORD to hold ‘major’ anti-IEBC protest in Nairobi on Madaraka Day

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) has announced plans to hold a major protest against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) during the Madaraka Day.

Addressing the press outside CORD’s offices at Capitol Hill after Monday’s protest, the coalition leader Raila Odinga said they will not be cowed by police’s apparent use of force in preventing them to access IEBC offices at Anniversary Towers and other counties.

“Police’s announcement that they were not notified of the protest is just a stupid excuse that has led to loss of life,” said Raila.

“Jubilee had gone to court seeking an order to bar out protests but the court ruled in our favour. This gives us a guarantee that our protests are within the confines of the law.”

The CORD leader claimed that it is due to government’s reluctance in charging police officers who were involved in the shooting of protesters during the 2007/08 post-election protests that have set a wrong precedence within the police force that has allegedly made them trigger-happy.

He accused police of targeting innocent individuals during the protests saying the man who was shot dead in Kisumu today (Monday) and the one roughed up in Nairobi last week were not involved in the demonstrations.

“The police are the reason business was disrupted today is because they made the protests which would have taken a mere two hours take the whole day. This just goes to show the extremity of their incompetence,” he said.

“We must condemn the use of force by police officers during our protests. We have held peaceful demonstrations today and it is unfortunate that due to police action, some people have been injured while others lost their lives.”

In his address, Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat said that his party fully supports CORD in seeking an overhaul of the electoral system ahead of the next elections.

Salat said that they would take part in all anti-IEBC demonstrations that CORD has organised to push for the resignation of IEBC commissioners.

This year’s Madaraka Day Celebration are to be held in Nakuru as the country seeks to strengthen the devolved system of governance.

CORD’s fourth protest, like the past three, was thwarted with police using teargas and water cannon to prevent the protesters from reaching IEBC offices located at Anniversary Towers.

CORD leaders and their supporters were stopped along University Way as they attempted to make their way to IEBC offices with police spraying them with peppered water to disperse them.

Despite the resistance they faced on Monday, CORD has insisted that they would not relent in their push to force IEBC commissioners out of office.

@benjaminwafula