Raila accuses Jubilee of reversing gains made since end of Kanu rule

The National Super Alliance has accused the Jubilee government of plunging the country into a climate of fear and terror in a bid to cling onto power.

Nasa leader Raila Odinga on Saturday said Jubilee is solely to be blamed for the prolonged political and economic crisis the country has been in for months now.

Addressing a press conference at the Okoa Kenya offices in Lavington, Nairobi, Mr Odinga warned that the more President Uhuru Kenyatta “tries to achieve his dictatorial goals, the more the entire economy will suffer”.

RIGGED ELECTION

“Kenyans certainly will never accept the result of another rigged election,” said Mr Odinga said.

He was accompanied by Nasa co-principal Musalia Mudavadi, Siaya Senator James Orengo, former senators Boni Khalwale and Johnson Muthama, as well as a host of MPs.

Mr Odinga said Kenyans will not accept to be dragged back to the dark past amid the transformative gains that have been made.

“We have been brought to this sorry pass by the criminal desire of the regime to hold onto power by force. All the extraordinary and transformative gains that we have made since the end of the Kanu rule in 2002 have gone up in flames,” said Mr Odinga.

“The rights and freedoms enshrined in the 2010 Constitution and the economic gains that have empowered so much enterprise and opportunity have been replaced under Jubilee by open repression and severe economic and financial hardship,” he added.

Speaking just a day after his return from a 10-day United States trip, Mr Odinga said Nasa will not sit back and give Jubilee a field day in messing up with democracy in the country.

DEMOCRACY

“From next week, we will be updating Kenyans on a continuous basis on the full range of action plans by Nasa to reclaim and defend democracy and ensure electoral justice,” said Mr Odinga.

“I was in the US and all my activities were known and even televised live but, instead, of welcoming me back, the government unleashed police to beat me up and my supporters,” Mr Odinga said of the chaos that marred his return on Friday.

He remained tight-lipped about Nasa’s next course of action, even as the country awaits Monday’s Supreme Court ruling in the petitions challenging the validity of the October 26 presidential election in which President Kenyatta was declared the winner by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The petitions were filed by former Kilome MP Harun Mwau, and activists Njonjo Mue and Khelef Khalifa.

The three petitioners, the former having filed a stand-alone suit and the latter a joint petition, cited non-adherence to the Constitution as the grounds upon which they sought the nullification of President Kenyatta’s win in last month’s poll.

CRISIS

Mr Odinga, however, said even if the Supreme Court is to nullify President Kenyatta’s win again, a third election would not offer a way out of the current crisis, adding that the IEBC is currently riddled with “criminal elements” who will never allow a credible poll to be held.

“After making history with the nullification, we are on course to making history again by being the only country where a repeat election has been challenged again in court,” he said.

The opposition leader condemned the police for allegedly killing his supporters, saying their only crime was to turn up to welcome him on Friday.

“It pains me that people died because of me. They would have killed me, instead. Those people came out to welcome me. What crime did they commit?” said an angry Odinga.

“The blood of those who died are on the hands of President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto,” he added.

Police, however, denied killing the supporters, saying they only used tear gas to disperse them.

In a statement, the police said the victims were stoned to death by the public after being caught looting.