Give evidence of military involvement in politics, Uhuru tells Raila
Police officers help in dispatching ballot boxes at Kendu Bay Police Station to various polling stations within Rachuonyo in Homa Bay County on April 24, 2017. President Uhuru Kenyatta has said the police, and not the military, were deployed to provide security in elections. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Nasa claimed that more than 300 soldiers have been deployed to Kisumu County ahead of the repeat presidential election.
- President Kenyatta said the military guard Kenya's borders while the police are deployed in elections to provide security.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked those linking the military to the current political impasse to provide evidence of their deployment, describing the claims as propaganda.
He said he will not use the army to subvert the will of the people in the Thursday presidential election.
PROPAGANDA
The Opposition is pushing the military propaganda to instil fear so that the public does not vote on Thursday, the President said.
“We have no intention to use the military to subvert the will of the people and anyone with thinks on the contrary should provide on where we have deployed the military to provide security in the Thursday election,” he said.
The President spoke on Sunday during an interview on Citizen TV where he talked about security for the repeat presidential election.
He also addressed the question of his legitimacy should his main rival Nasa leader Raila Odinga skip the election and the brutality meted on demonstrators in Nyanza by the police during anti-IEBC protests.
LAW
The National Super Alliance (Nasa) on Friday claimed the government has deployed more than 300 soldiers in Kisumu County to provide security during the Thursday repeat election and warned President Kenyatta this was violation of the Constitution.
Siaya Senator James Orengo said that Nasa had received reliable information that the military officers deployed in the lakeside county are drawn from Lanet Barracks in Nakuru County.
“President Kenyatta cannot militarise elections. It’s about the ballot, not the bullet. Any election in which the military participates is not an election,” he said during a rally in Bondo.
“Once the government uses the military, people can stand and take any action provided by the Constitution. The Constitution does not allow President Kenyatta to conduct election the way he wants.”
ROLES
But the President said this was not the first time the Opposition had made the allegations, noting similar concerns had been expressed in the run-up to the August 8 General Election.
He said the security for the August 8 polls was provided by the police and other internal security agencies, whereas the military had been deployed to secure the international boundaries.
“It’s the police who were deployed to provide security on August 8 and those who are dragging the military in this must provide evidence of the instances we have deployed the army. We know the role of state agencies and the fact is our military has been working hard to stabilise our borders," Mr Kenyatta said.
The Head of State reiterated that he was not ready to have dialogue with the Mr Odinga before the election because it will be tantamount to subverting the will of the people.
LEGITIMACY
He shrugged off claims that the outcome of a boycotted election will undermine his legitimacy.
“It will not undermine my legitimacy in any way because even if in some constituencies the returning officers returns a zero vote that will be an expression of people’s will even if no one participated,” Mr Kenyatta said
The President further defended the police on claims that they have violently stopped Nasa supporters from peacefully expressing their displeasure with the manner in which the electoral commission managed the election.
President Kenyatta said the police were hard on rioters and not demonstrators.
