Uhuru, Raila State House meeting ‘averted deadly Madaraka clashes’

Last week’s State House meeting between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Cord leader Raila Odinga averted a potentially deadly confrontation between supporters of the two at the opposition’s Madaraka Day rally at Uhuru Park.

Coming in the backdrop of reports that Jubilee politicians in Nairobi had vowed to “protect businesses for the silent majority” in case Cord supporters “engaged in looting”, the State House meeting was hurriedly convened on Tuesday to create a semblance of a truce.

Saturday, Mr Odinga’s spokesman Dennis Onyango said ODM Executive director Oduor Ong’wen and former PS Andrew Mondo met the head of public service and chief of staff Joseph Kinyua and State House Comptroller Lawrence Lenayapa on Monday.

“They were at State House to lay ground for the Tuesday meeting,” Mr Onyango said without offering more details.

An investigation by the Sunday Nation indicates that Mr Kenyatta acted on advice from the National Intelligence Service to meet Mr Odinga and pose for photographs together to contain the soaring political temperatures.

“Why do you think State House readily circulated photos of Uhuru, (Deputy President William) Ruto, Raila and (Cord co-Principal Moses) Wetang’ula engaging under relatively relaxed atmosphere just days after a fierce exchange on the IEBC matter? There are things you are forced to do to keep the country peaceful,” a highly placed source said.

Mr Odinga has been leading Cord supporters in demonstrating outside the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission offices on Mondays to force IEBC bosses out of office.

The protests have, however, been dispersed by the police. Three people died in Kisumu and Siaya two weeks ago.

Reliable sources in government indicate that there would have been potentially fatal confrontations in the city on Wednesday had evangelist Lucy wa Ngunjiri of Prayers Beyond Boundaries Ministries, who had paid Sh150,000 to reserve Uhuru Park, insisted on holding her crusade in the park as Cord.

CONFRONTATION LIKELY

Another confrontation is likely Monday after Mr Odinga said Saturday that they would ignore a police order outlawing the anti-IEBC demonstrations.

Addressing a rally in Garissa town, he told Cord supporters to turn up in large numbers at the electoral commission’s offices to force its bosses to resign.

“Sisi wana Cord tumechoka na teargas, walete bomu kwa sababu bado tutaendelea na amaandamano." (“We in Cord are tired of teargas, let them use  bombs because we will still continue with the protests?” Mr Odinga told the crowd.

Police Saturday banned both Cord’s demo and a parallel rally called by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

Unknown to many though, prior to Madaraka Day, various camps had been secretly arming their supporters.

A man was arrested on Wednesday as he tried to enter Uhuru Park for the Cord rally carrying pangas and rungus.

A video shows the man telling the police that the weapons are always in the car, and that he had forgotten to remove them before entering Uhuru Park.

“Zinakuwaga tu kwa gari. Nilisahau kuzitowa,” the man is heard telling the police.

OUTLAWED SECTS

There have been reports that some politicians, from across the divide, are keen to revive outlawed militia groups such as Mungiki and Siafu.

Such outfits are a potent tool at the disposal of thuggish politicians to subdue their opponents.

But Nairobi County Police Commander Japheth Koome said police are prepared to deal with any unlawful acts even as we established that two shops along Luthuli Avenue had been converted into warehouse for the weaponry bought from different supermarkets in town.

A tout operating one of the public service vehicles next to the store revealed that machetes had been bought in small scale, by different people and in varied locations to avoid raising eyebrows.

Mr Koome could neither confirm nor deny reports that weapons were procured to attack Cord supporters during the Madaraka Day rally despite claims by ODM secretary for political affairs Opiyo Wandayi that they furnished the police with names of individuals behind such plans.

“This did not start today. As far back as three weeks ago, we had information of plans to attack Cord supporters during the demos,” Mr Wandayi said.

The truce was, however, short-lived and Siaya Senator James Orengo blames Jubilee for it.

“In the talks, there was an agreement that Madaraka speeches would be civil. That we would stop the combative speeches. But you saw it clearly that Ruto was too impatient to obey this, he fired the first salvo,” said Mr Orengo.

DID NO WRONG

But Mr Ruto’s handlers say he did no wrong when he called on Cord to follow the law in seeking to replace IEBC commissioners.

To demonstrate that police may have gotten wind of plans for violence, a police insider said they had clear instructions from their bosses not to allow Cord supporters from Kibera on May 23 access town to avoid an ugly clash with Jubilee supporters.

Starehe MP Maina Kamanda says were it not for the police intervention things could have gotten out of hand.

“Such kind of encounters can only lead to anarchy. I doubt that is the route the opposition wants us to go.

"We are watching Raila to see if he crosses the red line,” he said.

Cord leaders have vowed to carry on with their street protests on Monday.