The children of KANU are taking us back as a country – Odinga

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader Raila Odinga has hit out at Jubilee government over what he termed as retrogressive and dictatorial leadership.

In a press briefing held at ODM Headquarters in Nairobi on Tuesday, Odinga said Jubilee had resorted to running the country using backward political schemes exercised during the Moi regime.

“Kenyans need to know that the children of KANU are beginning to reintroduce the things we went to war against their fathers for,” said Raila Odinga.

“Jubilee has managed to take Kenya through its most significant political, economic and social regression since the early 1980s when the KANU government implemented a series of measures that turned the country into a one-party kleptocracy with a stagnating economy and political oppression on an unprecedented scale.”

He accused the government of bribing legislators in the opposition to join the government and passing legislations used to give the President powers over independent institutions.

“We are back to the 1990s when MPs were paid heftily to defect from Opposition to the governing party,” said Raila.

“Jubilee is laying the ground for the creation of a single party monolith, buying off Opposition MPs and co-opting other parties, all in the name of creating national unity. That is what Kanu did from 1960s all the way to 1990s.”

The ODM party leader asserted that there was a plot by Jubilee to influence the 2017 elections outcome through passing Bills that will give the President powers over key positions.

“As happened soon after independence, Jubilee is using its numbers in Parliament to muzzle independent institutions and offices in the name of giving the President powers to govern,” Raila stated.

“The President has given himself the powers to appoint and dismiss the Inspector General of Police and the Chief Justice, against provisions of the Constitution. With that, we are back to the era when the President would dismiss or appoint head of Police or head of Judiciary through a 1 PM radio announcement.”

The coalition leaders stated that the government had moved to clip the powers of the Auditor General and to silence KNUT and Dockers’ Workers Union in order to suppress Kenyans.

“The Auditor General is losing his independent powers. Trade unions, just like independent media and civil society are targeted for silencing,” said the CORD leader.

“Jubilee has sworn to remove the vocal leadership of two giant unions; KNUT and the Dock Workers union in a bid to create a compliant labour movement, just as Kanu did, killing the Kenya Federation of Labour and Labour Congress to create a pliant COTU and Maendeleo ya Wanawake.”

“When terrorism has struck, Jubilee has responded by attempting to introduce restrictive laws in the name of fighting terror. That is not new. It is was done in the 1960s and 1970s, with the introduction of the Public Order Act to restrict the Opposition and contain dissenting voices in the name of fighting the Shiftas and consolidating national unity and development.”

Raila Odinga further accused President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto of contravening the Constitution by engaging in Harambees.

He said the coalition has begun an audit into the lifestyle of DP Ruto to unravel his source of wealth and where he gets money to give in Harambees.

The reference was a clear emphasis of a similar statement made by Raila over the weekend where he called on Ruto to declare his wealth.

“In a month, the deputy president gives Ksh50 million in Harambees yet we know his salary cannot sustain such exuberant expenditures,” said Raila.

“Ruto has been coming with money in sacks dishing it to Members of Parliament in Western, spending money that should be channeled to development projects.”

In an interview on Citizen TV last month, Ruto, however, stated that he regards giving as a matter of the heart and not wealth, adding that he is ready for a lifestyle audit.

By @benjaminwafula