Uhuru, Ruto stoking violence by insulting Raila, ODM warns
ODM leader Raila Odinga during a past press briefing at his Capitol Hill offices on November 4, 2016. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The party said that the Head of State and his deputy had consistently and with no care insulted Mr Odinga, in a manner they said could lead Kenyans to the events that preceded the violent 2007 presidential elections.
- In a strongly-worded statement that described the DP as “a jilted lover” who they said was “throwing insults and spewing venom at everyone who holds a different opinion from his”, the party said that the two leaders must ‘tame’ their language.
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) on Thursday accused President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto of what they said was continually insulting its leader Raila Odinga.
The party said that the Head of State and his deputy had consistently and with no care insulted Mr Odinga, in a manner they said could lead Kenyans to the events that preceded the violent 2007 presidential elections.
In a strongly-worded statement that described the DP as “a jilted lover” who they said was “throwing insults and spewing venom at everyone who holds a different opinion from his”, the party said that the two leaders must ‘tame’ their language.
“Words like stupid, wicked, witch, small man, mad man or insane cannot be the language of conducting the business of the presidency,” ODM chairman John Mbadi said in a 761-word statement.
“These cannot be the language of civilised politics and transformation that Uhuru and Ruto purport to represent. Yet such language has become the stock-in-trade of the President and his deputy,” he said.
“As things stand now, the President and his deputy are lighting a fire that they will not be able to extinguish,” Mr Mbadi warned.
“Unless they stop, Uhuru and Ruto will burn Kenya. If it comes to that, they will have no one but themselves to blame and they must be prepared to shoulder responsibility,” he added.
Mr Mbadi accused investigation agencies against what he said was turning a blind eye to the insults.
This, he said, had led to a wrong belief that it was okay to insult Mr Odinga and the opposition.
“It is a very dangerous message because the Opposition leaders being insulted and their supporters will somehow look for ways to defend their beliefs, their political choices, their dignity and their candidates,” Mr Mbadi further warned.
The statement came just a day after ODM officials spread a video in which they said President Kenyatta had used unprintable words on Mr Odinga during his Monday and Tuesday tour of central Kenya.
“The language President Kenyatta and Deputy Ruto are resorting to is darker, violent, threatening, demeaning to themselves and opponents and more prone to insults and grandstanding,” the party official said.
