2002 Elections

Kenyans in USA will endorse Nyachae for Presidency

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Published on Saturday, 30 June 2007 22:17



Jersey City, New Jersey, July 20, 2002 (nyachae for president)

Hon. Simeon Nyachae, the Ford-People presidential candidate, was overwhelmingly endorsed by a large meeting of Kenyans convened by Kenya Umoja Association (KUA), a non-profit organization based in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA.Mr. Nyachae won 75% of the total vote taken in a secret ballot after a vigorous debate. Candidates on the ballot included Raila Odinga, Mwai Kibaki, James Orengo, Musalia Mudavadi and Uhuru Kenyatta. Orengo, the second-placed candidate scored 12% of the vote while the rest got an average of 2%.

 

There was heated debate in the lead up to the vote in which participants expressed views about the future Kenya they would like to see. During the debate, the participants strongly rejected president Daniel Arap Moi’s attempts establish a Kenyatta dynasty.Instead, the gathering embraced Nyachae, the member of Parliament for Nyaribari Chache, “as one best qualified to reconstruct the country’s battered economy, uphold the rule of law, prosecute suspects of the “tribal clashes” the Rift Valley and other economic saboteurs to the full extent of the Law, while protecting the Civil and Human Rights of the Kenyan citizenry”, said a statement issued by the KUA Chairman Anthony Karanja.

 

The meeting saw Nyachae as a "a no-nonsense personality, firm, [one] not beholden to Mr. Moi, a long resume of government experience, financially independent, one who would take on lawlessness and disorder without fear" and much more.”KUA elected to take this unusual action with this in mind. Kenyans overseas will not be able to participate, for most part, directly in the election of the next President of our homeland, “ said Mr. Karanja adding that “Kenyans continue to engage in endless debates but shy away from any action plan to restore political and economic sanity in their country.”

 

Saying “action speaks louder than words”, Mr. Karanja added that “no amount of condemnation or intellectual challenge to the [Moi] regime has made much headway for twenty-three years.” He added that Kenyans abroad will stand by the candidate of their choice and will back the candidate’s campaign, morally and materially. Karanja sees this approach as the only way to become effective in changing the course of Kenyan politics at home. “What KUA did is to make a statement of leadership,” he surmised.Mr. Karanja appealed to Kenyans in other parts of the world to get into the “ballpark” to determine the nation’s destiny. “Sitting on the fence is unacceptable,” he mused while warning that “inaction [by Kenyans abroad] is contributing to perpetuation of dirty government at home.” He sees a historic moment ahead that requires seizure of the opportunity that will “make an indelible mark on the political landscape on our once great country”.