I am not the only one salivating – Raila to Uhuru

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader, Raila Odinga, has revived the nyama debate by stating that he is not the only one salivating when President Uhuru Kenyatta and other Jubilee leaders feast on meat.

Speaking in Kilgoris on Thursday, September 29 on the first day of his two-day tour of Narok, Raila said that many Kenyan are salivating with and would want a piece of the meat that Jubilee is enjoying.

“When you see someone enjoying meat, isn’t it natural for you to be mad? That is what we feel and it is not just Raila who is salivating but many other Kenyans,” he said.

This is the first time that Raila has responded to the remarks made by President Uhuru Kenyatta at the funeral of former Minister William Ole Ntimama in Narok a fortnight ago.

In his speech, a seemingly vexed President Kenyatta told the CORD leader to keep off Jubilee affairs saying he should concentrate on putting his house in order in readiness for the 2017 General Election.

“I would like to tell my friend Raila to keep off my house and focus on his. He should know that right now Jubilee is in power and we are the ones with the meat, so they should continue salivating,” said the President.

Days later, the President visited a local kiosk at Kenyatta Market to eat meat with a number of Jubilee legislators including Nairobi Senator, Mike Mbuvi Sonko, Nominated MP, Johnson Sakaja, Mathare MP, Steve Kariuki, among others.

This action was interpreted by political pundits as a move by the President to drum home his point made at Ntimama’s funeral.

His actions did not, however, augur well with all political leaders with Bomet Governor, Isaac Ruto, among those who castigated the President over his action.

Speaking in Bomet, Ruto told Uhuru to increase county revenue to enable people in the counties to enjoy nyama.

“We see President Uhuru enjoying meat in Nairobi from morning to evening yet that is something we only enjoy once every year – on December 25th,” he said.

“We want him to improve disbursement of county funds to ensure we too can enjoy a piece of the meat.”

The CORD leader also called on Jubilee to implement the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to ensure cases of land injustices are solved.

“The Maasai community has a good reason to remove Jubilee from office because they have borne the brunt of cases of land injustices which Jubilee has refused to solve.”

“Economic marginalization is also visible in this region where there are poor roads and health facilities.

He urged the locals to register as voters to ensure ODM wins the 2017 General Election.

“During the voter registration exercise, only one who will not have registered as a voter should be denied food. Women should also deny any men who will not have registered as voters their conjugal rights.

The ODM leader will wind up his tour of the region on Friday before heading to Kisumu where he will hold a major rally on Saturday.  His deputy party leader and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho will be in Kisumu on Friday to build momentum ahead of the Saturday rally.

@bejaminwafula