Uhuru’s decision on South Sudan not good for KDF – Raila

Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader Raila Odinga has continued to fault President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decision to withdraw Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers from South Sudan.

In a statement sent to newsrooms on Monday, Raila said that the decision would not auger well with KDF soldiers who earned allowances and field experience from missions abroad.

“…the rash decision by the President to withdraw all our troops out of South Sudan UN mission…denies them the allowances they get on such missions, which is also shared by the country,” he wrote, adding: “…our soldiers acquire invaluable experience on such missions that they shall never attain in the barracks.”

The president ordered the immediate withdrawal of KDF soldiers from the war-torn country and a discontinuation of Kenya’s support to the peace process after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon ordered the sacking of UNMSS force Commander Lt. General Johnson Mogoa Kimani Ondieki over an attack on civilians in Juba.

A report by the Independent Special Investigation body indicated that United Nations peacekeepers failed to respond to an attack on civilians by South Sudanese government troops at the Hotel Terrain in the capital Juba in July, less than a mile from a U.N. compound.

Already, two troops of 200 KDF soldiers, out of the close to 1,000 who had been deployed to South Sudan under the UN peacekeeping banner, have arrived in the country as Kenya makes true its threat to pull out of the conflict-riddled country.

Raila now says that it was wrong for President Kenyatta to order the soldiers out of South Sudan, saying his actions are unconstitutional and dictatorial.

“Dictatorship usually begins with a country’s leadership ignoring or deliberately misinterpreting the constitution for ego missions. That is the path the President and his deputy are trying to put the country on with the outdated view of what the President can do with defence forces.”

“The President does not have an exclusive mandate in matters military. It is Parliament and not the President that has overall authority over the military,” he said.

Citing Section 238 (2) and Article 132 (e) of the Constitution, Raila said that national security is subject to the authority of the Constitution and Parliament adding that the President can only declare war with the approval of Parliament.

“Section 240 of the Constitution creates the National Security Council which, but only with, the approval of Parliament, has the sole mandate to deploy national forces outside Kenya for regional or international peace support operations; or other support operations; and approve the deployment of foreign forces in Kenya,” the statement read further.

He called on the president to engage with the United Nations on ways to resolve the issue, instead of acting out of anger and emotions.

The ODM leader was speaking in response to comments by Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday telling Raila to keep off military affairs.

Ruto defended Uhuru’s decision saying as the Commander in Chief he had powers to make decisions on matters concerning KDF.