Raila Odinga preaches peace in Bondo ahead of repeat poll

Nasa leader Raila Odinga and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho at Oginga Odinga Park in Bondo, Siaya County, on October 20, 2017 during a prayer rally for protesters injured and killed during anti-IEBC protests. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Raila Odinga asked his supporters not to attack Kikuyus.
  • He asked people in the region to live in harmony.

National Super Alliance (Nasa) leader Raila Odinga on Friday urged supporters not to attack members from communities perceived to support his rival President Uhuru Kenyatta.

At a rally in Bondo to commemorate those killed in anti-IEBC protests, Mr Odinga called on supporters not to make personal the political differences between him and President Kenyatta.

INNOCENT

“Do not attack innocent people. That Kikuyu businessman here in Bondo is innocent. They have nothing to with what we are facing today. Please…please…please…please. No one, no Kikuyu, should be punished for the sins of Uhuru. If God punishes him, it will be him alone,” he said, urging communities to live in harmony.

“All Kenyans are together. Everywhere I go, they call me Baba, don’t you see? I went to a funeral in Kiambu, the people there called me Baba before him [Uhuru Kenyatta]. So, it is not the people, it is a few leaders who are causing the problem.”

Mr Odinga said he will make an announcement “on the way forward” on October 25. “I can assure [that] this matter, we shall conclude it in an amicable way. People won’t believe it.”

But he insisted there will be no election on October 26 as scheduled by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

STEER

Mr Odinga was accompanied by Nasa leaders, including Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, Siaya Senator James Orengo and former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama.

They gathered at the Oginga Odinga Park in Bondo to celebrate the lives of protesters killed in the last three weeks of demos against the IEBC.

Mr Odinga argued the supporters were not killed in vain and said the bullets aimed at them would have as well targeted him.

He likened himself to a coxswain, steering a boat to “a safe landing.”

The leaders were due to address a parallel Mashujaa Day celebration in Kisumu County later in the afternoon.