By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- The Northlands farm is located in the hitherto Uhuru’s home turf of Kiambu and Ferdinard Waititu and William Kabogo are the two governors who had previously served this county.
- Raila, who was leading the demonstrations in the capital city of Nairobi on that day, roundly condemned the incidences.
- While referring the ‘sponsors’ of these attacks as coward, he reiterated. We will not be cowed. We have a right demonstrate and we are pushing a genuine course.
- The cost of living is very high and majority of Kenyans are suffering. It must come down. This is our message to the President.
Reacting to the incidences of looting, destruction of properties and bloody confrontations taking place in the ongoing demonstrations called by the leader of Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga, President William Ruto called on the law enforcers to pull up their socks and ensure the criminals involved in these acts of lawlessness were apprehended and punished.
Ruto, who is currently on a working tour of Germany and Belgium, spoke when he addressed Kenyans living Germany.
I’m fully aware of the events happening back home and I want to say this.
Kenya is a country governed by the rule of law and the constitution.
Therefore, I call upon the police to apprehend the criminals who were taking advantage of these demonstrations to destroy properties and endanger the lives of Kenyans and nationals of other countries.
The police should to do this without fear and favor.
He added: The law should be applied equally when dealing with crimes.
The properties of the ordinary Kenyans as well as those of the rich and mighty must be protected.
His reaction came just two days after hordes of goons and mercenaries invaded the Northlands farm which is owned by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family and destroyed properties worth millions of shillings.
On the same day, the goons had raided the East Africa Spectre, a gas-cylinder manufacturing company owned by Raila Odinga’s family.
Reports indicated the goons, who raided the Kenyatta land chanted Mau Mau slogans, as they emphasized that their mission was to subdivide the land and allocate pieces to themselves.
As sons of Mau Mau, we are entitled to own the land.
Unconfirmed reports indicated the goons were hired by a host of politicians from Mount Kenya region, including two current MPs and a former governor.
The Northlands farm is located in the hitherto Uhuru’s home turf of Kiambu and Ferdinard Waititu and William Kabogo are the two governors who had previously served this county.
Raila, who was leading the demonstrations in the capital city of Nairobi on that day, roundly condemned the incidences.
While referring the ‘sponsors’ of these attacks as coward, he reiterated. We will not be cowed. We have a right demonstrate and we are pushing a genuine course.
The cost of living is very high and majority of Kenyans are suffering. It must come down. This is our message to the President.
Here, Raila would be economical with truth. He would not want Kenyans to know the cost of living started to shoot up when he was the core-principal of the ‘handshake’ government. Ruto inherited the problem they created and he was busy fixing it.
It is worth to note Ruto took over when the worst drought and famine in 40 years was ravaging this country. Kenya was also recovering from devastating effects of Covid-19 pandemic and reeling from Russia-Ukraine war.
It is true that Article 37 of the constitution allows people to assemble, demonstrate, picket and present public petitions to the public authorities.
But the same law calls for peaceful demonstrations and the protestors to be unarmed.
However, in most cases what we have seen the opposite of this.
The armed protestors had been engaging the anti-riot police in fierce battles.
Raila’s other demands include pushing the President to open the 2022 presidential election servers and reinstate the ‘Cherera four’, the four IEBC commissioners, who rejected the final results released by the chairman Wafula Chebukati when he declared Ruto as the President-elect.
To me, these demands were not genuine as they were not anchored in law. Being politically instigated, they were designed to blackmail, intimidate and arm-twist the new president.
This by forcing him to come down and invite Raila to the negotiating table.
This will give Raila an opportunity to push his personal agenda of asking him to share the government with him on 50-50 basis.
He used the same tack in the aftermath of 2007 and 2017 polls respectively and he succeeded.
After joining the government, he always got contented and would no longer question the ills associated with these governments. He was now part of it and well remunerated.
In so doing, Raila would totally abandon his role of whistle blowing. He would also forget his footsoldiers who had risked thier life to push his course.
This would always remind me the strategy of use-and-dump that shaped up the leadership of former President Daniel Arap Moi.
Let us call the spade, a spade. President Ruto has no authority to open the servers. Just like Raila, he was a competitor in the August 9 elections.
The servers are kept by the IEBC. So, Raila should take that demand there.
If not, he has an option of returning to the Supreme Court. The apex court had dealt with these matters. So, the case would be accepted only if he has new evidence.
Regarding the Cherera four, the law was followed to the letter and spirit.
The three commissioners opted to resign instead of facing the tribunal to defend themselves.
Only one opted to face the tribunal and she was also found guilty.
In the final report, the president was asked to send her home.
Back to President Ruto’s remarks in Germany, he demonstrated that he understood very well his constitutional responsibilities.
Protecting the lives and properties of all Kenyans stood out as the key fulcrum of the oath of office he took.
This is because our constitution provides for an executive presidency. Ruto is the CEO of Kenya. So, if things go wrong, the buck will always stop with him.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and commentator based in Nairobi
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