CORD writes to police notifying them of Madaraka Day rally

CORD writes to police notifying them of Madaraka Day rally

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) has written to Nairobi County Police Commander notifying him of their plan to hold a public rally during Madaraka Day.

In the letter, dated May 23rd, 2016, and signed by CORD CEO Norman Magaya, the coalition said they have already secured Uhuru Park as the venue for their protests from Nairobi City County.

Though CORD claims the rally is aimed at celebrating liberties and freedoms and reaffirm the quest for constitutionalism in Kenya, it is largely seen as another venue to further their calls for the removal of IEBC commissioners from office.

“We kindly request you to organise for the necessary security arrangements to ensure the safety of all leaders and wananchi who will attend the rally,” said Magaya.

“Your cooperation towards making the rally a success will be highly appreciated.”

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 reason business was disrupted today is because the police 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.”

Meanwhile, CORD has announced that they would go ahead with their weekly anti-IEBC protests on Monday as they push for the overhaul of the electoral body.

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