Odinga: We must stop Al Shabaab at all cost

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader Raila Odinga now says Al Shabaab and other terror groups must be stopped at all cost.

Odinga, while paying tribute to the fallen soldiers who were killed by the militants exactly one week ago during an early morning offensive on a KDF camp in El Adde, Somalia, said that the country must stand together and take the battle to Al Shabaab who have been trying to stop us violently.

“And when they try to stop us violently as they have, we must stand together and take the battle to them,” said Odinga.

“We must stand up in unison for our common peace, our freedom and our way of life. As a tribute to our soldiers, let us teach our children that we must not succumb to the forces of fear.”

Noting that the opposition and the ruling coalition may not exactly agree on how best to tackle the Al Shabaab threat, Odinga said: “We may not agree on how best to fight Al Shabaab and secure our land. But we are in agreement that the terror groups are bad for Kenya, they are bad for Somalia, and they are bad for the whole world.”

The former Prime Minister said that Kenyans must stand up against blind hatred as a tribute to our heroes.

“As a tribute to our heroes, let us stand up against blind hatred. Let us stand up against violence. Let us stand up and protect the right to life. Let us overcome evil with good.”

He called on Kenyans to “go out and plant a tree, just one tree, to celebrate all our heroes killed or wounded” in the deadly El Adde attack.

“The tree will take a long time to grow, just like our wounds will take a long time to heal. But we must begin. Someday, we must heal. Someday, we must overcome. But we must never forget.”

Odinga added: “Those who fell victim this past week occupy a special place in our minds and our nation.”

“The fire they withstood, the fire they returned, the lives they lost and the wounds they endured on that dawn to keep us safe remain unparalleled in our history. It must remain in our history today and forever.”

“May God give you the strength to endure this pain and live with this loss.We stand wounded. But we stand together. And together, we shall overcome.”