Uhuru vows to beat Cord chief Odinga ‘fair and square’ in polls

Cord leader Raila Odinga has dared President Uhuru Kenyatta to arrest him over allegations that he was inciting Kenyans to cause chaos, as the political heat ahead of the August elections intensified.

But, unperturbed, President Kenyatta vowed to show the Cord leader “dust once more” in the next elections as Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Wiper Party counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka joined the fray, accusing the President of attempting to intimidate his rivals through the use of force.

Mr Odinga, while mobilising the public to register as voters in Igembe Central, Meru County, said he is not afraid of going to jail because he had spent nine years behind bars in the past.

“I have been in jail for nine years while Uhuru was born and raised in State House,” said Mr Odinga at Maili Tatu Market.

“He cannot threaten me with a jail term.”

NOT A TRIBALIST

The Cord leader accused Jubilee leaders of misleading the Meru people by painting him as a tribalist, arguing that they are slinging mud at him in the hope of attracting sympathy votes.

“I am not an enemy of the Ameru,” he said.

“I have worked with Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi and Senator Kiraitu Murungi for many years.

“When I was Roads minister, I brought the now Tanzania President John Magufuli to open the Meru-Maua road and I oversaw the designing of most of the roads now under construction here.”

But, speaking in neighbouring Tharaka-Nithi County, President Kenyatta said he is determined to defeat Mr Odinga in a free, fair and transparent election as he ruled out the possibility of rigging in the next polls.

He said Mr Odinga is fond of complaining about electoral malpractices, adding that he did so even when then President Mwai Kibaki “defeated” the Cord leader in 2007.

Mr Odinga still disputed the results.

“I also beat him in 2013,” President Kenyatta said, amid applause from the crowd.

DEFEAT RAILA

He said he is seeking support from Kenyans to defeat Mr Odinga once again in the August polls and urged Tharaka-Nithi residents to vote for him.

On Wednesday, speaking in Siakago, President Kenyatta warned that politicians who incite Kenya to violence risked being arrested, and in the same breath described his political nemesis, Mr Odinga, as a tribalist who hates peace.

“I will not allow anyone in Kenya to lose their lives or property because of elections again,” said President Kenyatta.

“The government will legally deal with leaders planning to cause chaos.”

On Thursday, Mr Mudavadi hit back at President Kenyatta’s warning against Mr Odinga, saying the President is deliberately misreading criticism in order to demonise the opposition.

“I hope Uhuru’s was a slip of the tongue and not a Jubilee plot to curtail constitutional freedoms and rights under the pretext of cracking down on hate speech,” said Mr Mudavadi.

“If there are candidates for hate speech, the Jubilee brigade leads the herd and should be in jail.”

'COWARDLY' OVERREACTION

He accused the President of “overreacting cowardly” to criticism, adding that there was “nothing in Raila’s statement” that threatened violence.

The ANC leader said Mr Odinga only told the President to stop schemes to rig elections through the issuing of single identification cards to multiple holders, something that may cause discontent among Kenyans.

“Raila is merely being a Good Samaritan and a responsible citizen,” he said.

“Uhuru should instead thank him for sound advice.”

In Nairobi, Mr Musyoka, speaking after chairing his party’s national executive council meeting, said President Kenyatta had overstepped his mandate in threatening to arrest opposition politicians.

“Let President Kenyatta appreciate that he is a candidate like any other for purposes of the electioneering process. It is not in his place to threaten the arrest of competitors,” he said.

Reporting by David Muchui and Lucas Barasa in Meru, and Patrick Langat and Collins Omulo in Nairobi.