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ODM ‘forgives’ Nyachae
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- Published on Friday, 28 September 2007 01:05
And in what looked like a reciprocation of the warm reception, Raila immediately announced that the party had unconditionally forgiven Roads minister Mr Simeon Nyachae, the man in the eye of the storm of condemnation over the weekend violence in South Mugirango Constituency in Gucha District.
The minister is being roundly condemned for allegedly inciting his armed supporters to attack ODM MPs Mr William Ruto and Mr Omingo Magara, and a parliamentary aspirant Mr Chris Bichage, injuring them. They were later admitted to hospital for treatment of the injuries sustained in the fracas.
But on Monday, a defiant Nyachae called a news conference in Nairobi to declare he was a clean man and had no apologies to make to anyone. The Roads minister said he had committed no crime, and dared the police to arrest and charge him in court if they thought otherwise. He blamed the violence on Ruto and Magara, whom he claimed had planned to disrupt the meeting. "What crime have I committed? It is very foolish for anyone to threaten me with a sack. I am a retired man who is not looking for a job. Let me be taken to court,’’ a furious Nyachae said.
Death of democracy
And the Electoral Commission of Kenya broke its silence over electoral violence, saying those perpetuating mayhem do not deserve to be leaders. The ECK said it was concerned with the recent flare up of violent incidents linked to the forthcoming General Election. Appealing for peace, the ECK chairman Mr Samuel Kivuitu said: "Democracies will never cohabit with election violence…There is so much at stake when electoral violence raises its hideous hand."
The call came a fortnight after goons assaulted a parliamentary aspirant, Ms Flora Igoki Tera, in Meru. On Sunday, President Kibaki stepped in to call for electoral calm and an end of violence in the wake of the assault on Ruto and Magara. And yesterday, the US Ambassador Mr Michael Ranneberger also spoke against electoral violence and appealed for restraint. "I commend President Kibaki for speaking unequivocally against electoral violence. I hope other politicians will follow the president’s advice to ensure violence-free elections," Ranneberger said at the United States International University, in Nairobi, where Kibaki opened an ultra-modern library.
And elsewhere, five University of Nairobi students arrested while demonstrating against the Roads minister were arraigned in court charged with taking part in an unlawful procession. But they declined to take a plea, terming the charges defective. A team of lawyers, led by Mr Harun Ndubi, represented them. "We have instructions that the charge facing the five does not comply with the law. It is incompetent and they cannot take a plea," said Ndubi. The students were remanded after the magistrate declined to release them on bond or cash bail, saying the prosecution needed to respond to the claims made by the defence.
Nyachae criticised
Back in Kisii, there was a heavy presence of police, who escorted the ODM leaders in their third day of campaigns in Western Kenya. The rally, at Gusii Stadium, was held about a kilometre from the Gusii Institute of Technology where over 100 opinion leaders from the 10 Gusii constituencies were consulting on how to support President Kibaki’s re-election bid. The leaders, under the auspices of the ‘Kibaki Tena’, ‘Kina Mama na Kibaki’ and ‘Vijana na Kibaki’ lobby groups, had earlier condemned the violence meted out on Ruto and Magara last Friday, and advocated for peaceful campaigns.
At the rally, Raila led the ODM leaders in rebuking the Roads minister, whom they accused of sponsoring the chaos. Ealier at Ekeronye in Nyamira District where the leaders held the first rally, hundreds of youths had burnt Nyachae’s effigy as the ODM leaders watched. "We condemn last week’s violence, but we have pardoned Nyachae because he is an old man," said Raila, and called for tolerance and restraint by Kenyans.
Raila’s running mate, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, and Pentagon members Mr Najib Balala and Mr Joseph Nyagah also advocated for peaceful campaigns. Urging Kenyans to shun leaders out to ignite tribal animosity, Mudavadi told Kenyans that their power rested with their votes. "Your weapon is your vote. Use it to bring down leaders using violence to cause animosity among peaceful communities," said Mudavadi.
Mzee Jason Nyangoka, 80, and Mainga Nyaberi, 70, enthroned Raila as a Kisii elder in a ceremony at Manga in Nyamira District. Raila was handed a shield, a bow and a spear, weapons he was told by the elders to use in protecting and serving Kenyans equally. In a memorandum read by former Cabinet minister Mr Chris Obure, Kisii leaders distanced themselves from last Friday’s South Mugirango fracas. "The embarrassment that the ODM leaders were subjected to was not a collective behaviour of the entire community, but an irresponsible act by Nyachae and his cronies," read the memorandum.
They said that majority of area residents were opposed to violence and were fully behind Raila’s candidature. The leaders, who included former PS Mr James Ongwae and Mr Timothy Bosire, called for Nyachae’s arrest and the transfer of South Kisii District Commissioner, Mr Mahamoud Mohammed, and his entire security team for failing to stop the goons. The petitioned the ECK to take action against Nyachae for allegedly inciting the youth to attack the MPs. Raila said the youth who attacked the leaders were ferried to South Mugirango by some prominent leaders.
MPs Mr Musa Sirma, Mr Henry Kosgey, Mr Kipkalia Kones and Mr Franklin Bett said Kisiis living in Rift Valley should not be harassed because of the incident and called for peace among the communities.
And speaking at Manga divisional headquarters in Kitutu Masaba Constituency, Raila dismissed the Party of National Unity (Panu) as a weakling that would not offer him any threat in his march to State House. "Sisi ndio farasi lakini Kibaki na chama chake cha Panu ni Kinyonga (ODM is a horse but Kibaki’s Panu is a chameleon)," said Raila.
He said Kibaki was giving Kenyans false promises "which he will not honour, just as he did the MoU which he voluntarily signed prior to the 2002 General Election". The Lang’ata MP said ODM would undertake peaceful campaigns to bring about meaningful change that Kenyans were yearning for.Raila’s campaign was boosted when about 10 civic leaders from Kanu and Ford-People decamped and joined ODM. Traders in Kisii town closed their businesses when Raila drove in in a convoy of about 100 vehicles.
