The Orange Democratic Movement on Monday announced a programme
of countrywide protest rallies to force the resignation of President
Uhuru Kenyatta.
ODM, the main opposition party, is cranking up pressure on the President, whom it accuses of failing to contain insecurity.
Yesterday,
after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, the party also
demanded the resignation of Chief of Kenya Defence Forces General Julius
Karangi and the disbanding of the Presidential Strategic Communications
Unit. No dates were announced for the rallies.
President
Kenyatta has been criticised for his handling of the slaughter of 28
bus passengers, mainly teachers travelling out of Mandera for Christmas
holidays, by Al-Shabaab terrorists in Mandera 10 days ago.
The
President did not cut short his trip to Abu Dhabi, and when he returned
he told the public that security was everyone’s responsibility, not
just the government’s.
At a time of mourning, the remarks were widely seen as insensitive.
Yesterday, PSCU criticised ODM’s move against the President, describing it as “an act of desperation”.
“It
is clearly impossible for ODM to avoid politicising every national
challenge and demanding irrelevant, cosmetic and vain remedies,” the
PSCU said in a statement.
Making its case against the
President on Monday, ODM claimed the government had lost control of half
of the country to armed militia and terrorists. It asked Mr Kenyatta to
take responsibility and step down.
“Kenyans are killed
seemingly at will and even the security services are not spared. From
Westgate and Eastleigh in Nairobi to Mpeketoni and Lamu to Kapedo and
Mombasa. The story is the same in Tana River, Garissa, Isiolo, Baringo,
Bungoma, Samburu, Turkana and Mandera,” said a statement read by Kisumu
Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o.
“The Presidency is bigger
than any man or woman. It is an office that carries the respect,
aspirations and spirit of the Kenyan people. If Mr Kenyatta has found
the job too difficult or if he has lost taste for it, then Kenyatta must
step down.
“We hereby resolve to join like-minded
parties and groups and embark on countrywide meetings, rallies and other
gatherings informed by a common altruistic purpose to save Kenya from
the leadership failure,” the statement said.
Individual
MPs and senators allied to the party have been calling for the
President’s resignation, and yesterday’s NEC announcement was an
escalation of those calls.
ODM said it was disappointed
by the government’s handling of security matters, describing the
approach as “disjointed, cavalier and haphazard, creating a climate of
fear and despondency across the country”.
“National
security cannot be reduced to photo opportunities, spin and sound bites.
It is much more serious than that. In this regard, we particularly call
for the shutting down of the State House-based Presidential Strategic
Communications Unit (PSCU),” Prof Nyong’o said, adding that its attempts
to speak for the presidency have divided Kenyans, who “want action and
substance”.
However, PSCU hit back, terming the calls for its disbandment as
an attempt by the opposition to politicise national tragedies to its
advantage.
“The PSCU is committed to maintaining a
faithful, patriotic, transparent and informative engagement with the
people of Kenya. This is to ensure that the people know what the
government is doing, and that government programmes respond to their
needs. We shall not waver from this commitment,” the statement said.
PSCU
said ODM “must recover the decency to avoid seeing political
opportunity in tragedies, crises and challenges that Kenyans face from
time to time. It must draw its inspiration, not from funerals, but from a
desire to serve.”
The unsigned statement was attributed to senior PSCU directors and authenticated for the Nation by Mr Munyori Buku, the senior director in charge of communications at State House.
ODM has also demanded the resignation of Gen Karangi because, it said, KDF had failed to protect Kenyans from foreign attacks.
It
also demanded that the government withdraw its troops from Somalia,
saying that Operation Linda Nchi has only brought misery to Kenyans
besides costing taxpayers billions of shillings.
WAR-RAVAGED NATION
“(The)
Mandera attacks, like that of Westgate and many others, have been
perpetrated by external forces. Yet Gen Karangi has seen no need to
explain to Kenyans why he cannot step down and when our nation will be
safe,” Prof Nyong’o said.
Calls for Kenyan troops to
pull out of Somalia were supported by Cord co-leader and Wiper leader
Kalonzo Musyoka, who said their continued stay in the war-ravaged nation
was responsible for insecurity in Kenya.
“We should think of a strategic withdrawal from Somalia,” Mr Musyoka said at a fundraiser in aid of a church in Machakos County.
Kenya
says that its troops, which are part of African Union forces, will
remain in Somalia until Al-Shabaab is eliminated. The AU force, known as
Amisom, has had considerable success in removing Al-Shabaab from Somali
cities, notably Mogadishu and Kismayu. This has cut its sources of
revenue and possibly weakened it.
But at the same
time, it has strengthened the group’s resolve to carry out attacks
against Kenya, to weaken public morale and undermine support for the
military campaign.
The meeting brought together
members of the re-constituted party leadership led by Budalang’i MP
Ababu Namwamba and his Gwasi counterpart, Mr John Mbadi, who have been
proposed for secretary-general and chairman, respectively.
Conspicuously
absent were Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who is mourning his
mother, and Funyula MP Paul Otuoma. Both were proposed for second deputy
party leader and vice chairman, respectively.
Although
the two have criticised the new list of proposed officials, Mr Oparanya
has since appeared to backtrack and embrace the line-up.
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