Don't relent, Luo elders tell Raila Odinga on oath plans

What you need to know:

  • The elders vowed to go round the four counties of Kisumu, Migori, Homa Bay and Siaya to unite the Luo community and forestall any kind of infiltration.

  • Mr Otondi also indicated that they would organise a meeting with Mr Odinga to advise him where he might have gone wrong.

The Luo Council of Elders has called on National Super Alliance (Nasa) Leader Raila Odinga not to relent in his plans to take oath as the people's president.

Led by chairman Willis Otondi, the elders cautioned the community against being divided by selfish individuals “who pose as leaders”.

SPLIT

They accused a faction led by Mr Nyandiko Ongadi, an elder, of betraying the members of the community by working with President Uhuru Kenyatta for their selfish and personal gains.

“We condemn the elders in the strongest terms possible and we will continue working with Mr Odinga as the leader who is recognised by majority of our people,” he said on Friday during a meeting at Ofafa Hall in Kisumu.

This comes as Mr Nyandiko called on the community to recognise Mr Kenyatta as validly elected president so that they can benefit from government appointments.

“Kenyatta is the president of everybody in Kenya. I call on him to consider the Luo, like other communities, in distribution of jobs and national resources,” he said last Monday.

But Mr Otondi appealed to the residents of Nyanza to stick with their leaders and desist from being divided.

UHURU

“Most of the things that Kenyans are enjoying are as a result of the struggles put by Mr Odinga and his father the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. We cannot abandon him at this critical stage,” he said.

On December 17, Mr Odinga vowed that he would soon be sworn in and scoffed at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s warning that anyone who undermines the Constitution or peace of the nation would face the full wrath of the law.

He reiterated his claim that he won the August 8 presidential election, which was quashed by the Supreme Court, but was rigged out through manipulation of figures in IEBC servers.

Speaking after he inaugurated the Coast People’s Assembly at Sun ’N’ Sand Beach Resort in Kilifi County, Mr Odinga said his oath of office will happen soon, but neither he nor his party leaders gave a date.

“Nobody will stop me from lifting the Bible,” he said, referring to the Christian gesture of lifting the holy book high during oathing ceremonies. “It is better to stand up for the truth and die while at it, than to die lying down.”

While his determination to take the oath will appease millions of his supporters, it is likely to antagonise foreign countries, religious leaders and trade unionists, who want to bridge the rift between the opposition and the government through mediated talks.

UNITY

Nasa Coast coordinator Leah Aketch called on the coalition to include Bunge La Mwananchi in the system of government.

“Nasa assembly should accommodate the people’s opinion in a clear and straight forward manner,” she said.

The elders vowed to go round the four counties of Kisumu, Migori, Homa Bay and Siaya to unite the Luo community and forestall any kind of infiltration.

Mr Otondi also indicated that they would organise a meeting with Mr Odinga to advise him where he might have gone wrong.

"As a human being, he also has his failures and we are going to candidly talk to him to ensure that everyone is brought on board,” he said.