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Campaigns Trail Leads to Kisii
- Details
- Published on Monday, 16 July 2007 23:41
It was unfair for the Head of State to continue passing blame to others after overseeing a flawed process in which a few individuals shelved the will Kenyans, said Eldoret North MP William Ruto .
Mr Ruto said a clique of powerful individuals changed proposals presented to them by Kenyans, leaving the current proposed Draft Constitution "shameful document" engineered by greed.
A police officer escorts an Orange team convoy at Suneka trading centre in Kisii District yesterday after some youths wearing Yes T-shirts started throwing stones at it. Photo by Sylvester Onyango
"Kenyans had good ideas for their country but some individuals carried their wishes to Kilifi where they were subjected to serious mutilation. What came out of the Kilifi talks was nothing close to the people's wishes and it absurd for the President to cry foul today yet all took place under his nose," he told a rally at the Gusii stadium in Kisii Town.
On the Banana side, Water minister Martha Karua accused former presidents' sons of hiding behind the constitutional referendum to conceal past misdeeds.
Ms Karua said Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Gedion Moi were out to cover up their fathers' injustices by maintaining the status quo. She was among leaders who addressed a Banana rally in Nyamira. Mr Ruto absolved himself from blame over the impasse on the Constitution, saying "clandestine forces" frustrated his efforts when he chaired the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution.
Roads minister Raila Odinga supported Mr Ruto, saying a selfish quest to cling to power caused certain individuals in Government to enter into machinations that derailed the wishes of the people.
He said contrary to dreams of a democratic Constitution, some selfish individuals were trying to force on Kenyans a set of laws that bestowed immense powers on the presidency.
Mr Odinga told off his Cabinet colleague Simeon Nyachae, accusing him of causing confusion in the review.
He also accused the Energy minister of digressing into trivial personal matters in the ongoing debate on the Constitution.
But addressing the Nyamira rally, Mr Nyachae said the Orange team wanted to use the outcome of the constitutional referendum as a tool against President Kibaki's Government in the 2007 General Election.
He said he was unhappy that Banana campaigners were being barred from certain sections of the country whereas the Gusii community listened to both sides.
Mr Nyachae said Kisii people turned out in large numbers for rallies called by either side.
He maintained that Orange supporters were out to grab power through the backdoor.
Among those who attended the rally, at Nyamira Primary School, were assistant ministers Joshua Toro and Henry Obwocha. Others included MPs Bonny Khalwale, Jimmy Angwenyi, Mwancha Okioma and Zebedeo Opore.
At Kisii, South Mugirango MP Omingo Magara, who was among 20 MPs who addressed the No rally, alleged that pro-Banana campaigners were using money to discredit him politically in his constituency.
