Cord leaders Saturday asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to stop trivialising the calls for a national dialogue.
Led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the politicians said they would not bow down to intimidation from the government.
Mr
Odinga said the Constitution has given all Kenyans sovereign powers to
determine and question how the country is being run, adding that he did
not see anything wrong with Cord’s call for talks.
He
advised Jubilee administration to welcome the dialogue because “Cord
represents 70 per cent of Kenyans which is the majority”.
The
former Prime Minister rejected the idea of using government structures
for dialogue, arguing that the bodies’ powers are from Kenyans. It is
Kenyans, he said, who are to decide the avenues through which they want
their problems solved.
“It is Kenyans who have donated
power to institutions like the Judiciary, the Executive and the
Legislature for the purpose of representation. This time round, Kenyans
will have to exercise their sovereign right of determining how they want
their country to be run,” said Mr Odinga.
Mr Odinga
was speaking at the funeral of the late Zachary Abonyo Oyombe in Siaya
County. Mr Oyombe was once an ODM chairman in Rarieda constituency.
Other speakers in the function supported the former PM’s remarks.
Nominated
senator Elizabeth Ongoro said the dialogue that Cord is calling for is
solely for the benefit of both the Kenyans and the Jubilee
administration.
Ms Ongoro also issued an ultimatum to the Jubilee government to convene a meeting for dialogue or face the wrath of Kenyans.
“I
want to advise the president to stop trivialising the calls for
national dialogue, as Cord members are not desperate to be called for a
cup of tea or lunch. But they are doing this for the love of the
country,” she said.
The Senator added that the dialogue
was meant to address issues affecting Kenya, which include
unemployment, insecurity, high inflation rates among other serious
issues.
Suna West MP Junet Mohamed advised the
President to dismiss his advisors who are against the proposed national
dialogue because they do not want to see his government serve the full
term of five years.
The MP accused Deputy President
William Ruto of being the inhibiting force against the national
dialogue, further accusing him of misleading Mr Odinga while they were
in the Grand Coalition government.
“The President
should be warned since the storm coming is very huge and will wipe out
the entire government if the dialogue is not in time,” he said.
Mr Mohamed asked the President and his administration to address tribalism with immediate effect.
He said Kenyans are not pleased with the status quo where government is in the hands of two communities while the rest are not.
Awendo MP Mr Jared Kopiyo said Cord is not interested in sharing power with Jubilee.
“The
Jubilee fellows are mistaken when the say that we want ‘nusu mkate’.
We want a full loaf as this will be able to deliver Kenyans from the
current plight they are facing under this government,” said Mr Kopiyo.
Nominated MP Oburu Oginga said Jubilee is a ‘cursed’ government and that is why they have been faced with so many misfortunes.
Nominated MP Oburu Oginga said Jubilee is a ‘cursed’ government and that is why they have been faced with so many misfortunes.
He
demanded that the government convenes dialogue or else the Kenyans
would single-handedly determine the fate of the country on their own.
“The
government administrators are being punished by God for ascending to
power through dubious means. They should dialogue with us or else the
Kenyans will take them down,” said Dr Oburu.
Others who
addressed the mourners were Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo, Siaya women
Representative Christine Ombaka, Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda, Siaya Governor
and Senator Cornel Rasanga and James Orengo respectively.
They later proceeded to another funeral in Bungoma County.
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