Post election violence victims warn CORD against IEBC protests

Victims of the 2007-08 post-election violence have now threatened to camp at the homes of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) Principals to protest the ongoing demonstrations against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

While condemning the violent protests, the victims noted that similar demonstrations in 2007 led to their predicament, with majority of them yet to heal fully.

Under the umbrella body of the Peace Ambassadors Network, the IDPs vowed to mobilize their colleagues and camp at the homes of Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula.

They noted that the constitution was clear on how the current IEBC commissioners should be ejected from office, noting that street protests was not one of them.

Addressing the media in Naivasha, the group coordinator Esther Namulanda said that the current strategy by CORD was the one used in 2007 leading to chaos.

Namulanda noted that in the process over 1,300 Kenyans lost their lives while another 600,000 were displaced.

“As victims of the 2007-2008 violence, we will not watch silently as the fire that burnt us is lit again to burn other Kenyans,” said Namulanda.

While calling on the CORD leadership to unconditionally call off their protests, the IDPs said that political violence breeds violence and violence breeds IDPs.

“If the CORD leadership does not stop this violent protests, we will also exercise our right to protest,” she said.

Namulanda said that they were confident that politicians could easily solve their disagreements without involving innocent Kenyans.

During the press conference, one of the victims of the Kiambaa church incident, Mary Wandia, almost broke down as she recounted her suffering during and after the violence.

She noted that the script used by politicians prior to the violence was the same one being used by the opposition leaders currently.

Wandia noted that none of the wives of children of the politicians were affected by the violence, adding that they were ready to camp at the homes of the CORD leaders.

“Leave Kenyans to live in peace,” she said.

On his part, a youth leader, Josphat Wairere, accused CORD of misusing unemployed youths in their demonstrations against IEBC.

“We need a vibrant opposition in the country, but proper procedures must be followed as per the constitution to avoid any form of violence,” he said.

By Karanja Kimani