Godhana says he is 'committed to peace'

An MP charged in court in connection with the Tana River clashes has denied culpability, terming himself as a “polished, trained, and committed peacekeeper”.

Dhadho Godhana (Galole) said the accusations against him were “malicious, intimidating, defamatory and misdirected".

The MP issued the statement in Parliament Thursday, under the strict watch of the Deputy Speaker, Farah Maalim, who warned him to keep off all matters that were pending in court. 

The MP was on Wednesday charged with incitement to violence at a Nairobi court on and later released on a Sh500,000 cash bail. The case is set for hearing on October 2.

Mr Godhana tore into the Minister of Defence Yusuf Haji, who is also the minister of Internal Security, saying that the way he’d ordered Mr Godhana’s inquest following the clashes had injured his reputation.

The MP also rapped Public Service assistant minister Aden Sugow for also mentioning him in relation to the clashes.

“Mr Haji and Mr Sugow, are my neighbours to the East and the utterances are personal and could have been informed by other issues between us,” said Mr Godhana.

Mr Godhana’s Galole Constituency borders Mr Haji’s Ijara Constituency and Mr Sugow’s Fafi Constituency.

Mr Godhana said the House owed him an apology, and through the Speaker, the MPs ought to apologise to him for allowing debate on his conduct and even for linking him with the murderous acts in Tana River. That MPs used parliamentary privilege to query his conduct, without a substantive motion, was irregular as per the House rules, he said.

The Standing Orders say that the conduct of any MP can only be discussed after a substantive motion has been filed and a three-day notice given to all MPs.

“The inflammatory remarks from the Minister of Defence which, were aired all over the world, reflected on me as the person behind the clashes. They were not just intimidating, but they also portrayed me as a killer and murderer and put my life at risk,” said Mr Godhana.

The MP said he’d already recorded a statement with the Criminal Investigation Department, and that he’d also written to the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Committee regarding the flare-up in Tana River County that has left over 109 people dead, in just under a month.

Mr Godhana, who was dismissed from government as an assistant minister of Livestock after he was charged in court, “thanked” the President and the Prime Minister for the decision, and added that he would submit himself to the judicial process.

However, the MP pleaded for more security, saying that those who were guarding him had been disarmed and withdrawn, as soon as he was fired. He said that at this time, he really, needed the security, given the grave danger on his life as a result of the charges facing him.

The statement was issued under “personal statements” and these are never interrogated or the MP interrupted. That’s what the Standing Orders prescribe.

Mr Godhana is a former soldier and has served in Somalia and Yugoslavia.