2002 Elections
Impeach Me If I Let You Down, Nyachae Says
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 19 July 2007 01:43
He defended his decision to vie for the presidency at an advanced age saying: "I know I am an old man. But I know where as a country we went wrong. I don't want to die before I help correct the messes which I can identify easily." He was addressing thousands of party supporters at Gusii stadium.
Mr Nyachae, 70, said he would be willing to be held responsible if his government performed below expectation.
"I will be answerable to the 32 million Kenyans but I will not lord over them like a dictator," he said.
He said the presidency was not a preserve of big tribes and urged smaller tribes to rally behind him.
Mr Nyachae pledged to have luxuries to be enjoyed by the outgoing president reduced and the funds used in public projects.
His administration would prioritise agriculture to reduce poverty among Kenyans and those responsible for mismanaging the economy would be held accountable. The candidate said if elected, he would protect President Moi, as long as he did not interfere with the elections.
He urged his supporters to conduct peaceful campaigns.
The rally was attended by former MPs Kipkalya Kones, Omingo Magara, Jimmy Angwenyi, Zepedeo Opore, Onesmus Mboko, Henry Obwocha and Oluoch Kanindo. Also present was party chairman Kimani wa Nyoike and many parliamentary aspirants.
Mr Wa Nyoike claimed that the party stood for transparency, unlike Kanu and NARC.
Crowds carrying placards in praise of their preferred candidates for parliamentary and civic seats started arriving at the stadium as early as 8am.
They were entertained by various leaders who broke into song and dance in praise of the party. Former Rangwe MP Ouma Muga led the crowds in singing popular Kisii tunes in support of Mr Nyachae.
The party supporters braced the chilly weather to listen to the leaders who vowed to punish anybody from the region who campaigned against Mr Nyachae's presidential bid.
Mr Obwocha and Mr Kanindo accused the local Press of working against Nyachae and Ford-People by giving them what they termed inadequate coverage compared to that accorded to National Rainbow Coalition and Kanu.
During the rally, Mr Nyachae was declared the sole parliamentary candidate for the Nyaribari Chache seat. He won the seat for the first time in 1992.
Meanwhile, Mr Nyachae has asked members of the Kuria community to reject assistant minister Shadrack Manga's quest for a third parliamentary term. He said the community was one of the poorest in the country due to bad leadership and ineffective representation in Parliament.
Outgoing MPs Jimmy Angwenyi and Omingo Magara said Nyachae's journey to state house was unstoppable and dismissed NARC and KANU as parties of selfish people who had no respect for democracy. They said all those not supportive of the quest for the presidency by Nyachae should either keep quiet or be forced to do so.
