President Kenyatta absconding duty – Mudavadi

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta not to abscond duty by hiding under the Constitution on the impending electoral crisis.

Calling on the President to take the clamour seriously, Mudavadi said demand for electoral reforms is a Kenyan people’s desire and the President is duty bound to mediate the process rather than cynically mock the opposition from the fence.

“It was unfortunate for the President to say he can do nothing while in Mandera. Nobody is asking him to order anyone around or usurp any powers. The President is saying he will do nothing if a catastrophe were to befall the country. That is dereliction of duty. The President needs to take this matter seriously otherwise it will end in turbulence,” said the ANC leader.

Mudavadi said that the Jubilee stance is petty.

“All their pronouncements are tinted in mockery and taunts about following the law yet they know they control the levers of power to initiate reforms through their majority in Parliament,” he said.

He said the right forum is a dialogue at the political level to find out the impasse.

“What has talking to us got to do with the law? What ties his hands in talking about electoral reform?” he asked.

He reiterated that though he cannot condone hooliganism, the right to protest is institutionalised and the role of police is to protect both protesters and property owners, but not to brutally clobber people.

“Police should not confuse the right to protest with containing riots. In protests, police duty is to guide protest to avoid infiltration of violence. Beating anyone who shouts or passes by a demo is premeditated violence by the police,” he said.

Mudavadi, condemned attempts to herd Kenyans into a two-horse race between Jubilee and CORD saying this undermines the right of Kenyans to participate freely in elections.

“We are conditioning Kenyans to choose between these fictions of a two-horse race whose result undermines the commitment to build a multi-party state. The media should not join this bandwagon. Kenyans desiring change should not be fixated with these extremes because there is ANC,” said the ANC leader.