I am not against Hassan as a person, declares Raila
What you need to know:
- Mr Odinga said Cord’s problem was with IEBC’s lack of credibility and not Mr Hassan as an individual.
- Mr Odinga said he even played a role in Mr Hassan’s appointment to head the current body.
- Mr Hassan has in turn dismissed Mr Odinga’s calls, terming him a bitter loser.
- Mr Odinga said that the anti-IEBC demos would resume on Monday.
Cord leader Raila Odinga on Saturday said that he was not targeting electoral commission chairman Issack Hassan using the anti-IEBC demonstrations.
Speaking in Mr Hassan’s Garissa home town, Mr Odinga said Cord’s problem was with IEBC’s lack of credibility and not Mr Hassan as an individual.
If anything, Mr Odinga told the crowd at Garissa Primary School grounds, it is him who picked Mr Hassan to sit on the electoral body.
“I nominated Issack Hassan to sit on the Yash Pal Ghai commission and also during the term of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission. We also nominated Mohamed Alawi and Lilian Mahiri Zaja after they were proposed by (Mombasa Governor) Hassan Joho and (former deputy speaker) Farah Maalim so when we say they should go, we are not after them as individuals but as IEBC commissioners,” said the opposition leader.
Mr Odinga said he even played a role in Mr Hassan’s appointment to head the current body.
He was reacting to comments by National Assembly Leader of Majority Aden Duale that his (Mr Odinga’s) push for the removal of IEBC commissioners was targeted at Mr Hassan as a son of Garissa and as a Muslim.
Mr Odinga and Mr Hassan have previously engaged in very bitter exchanges with the Cord leader accusing the IEBC boss of involvement in the Chickengate bribery scandal.
Mr Hassan has in turn dismissed Mr Odinga’s calls, terming him a bitter loser.
HOLD PARALLEL RALLY
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Odinga said that the anti-IEBC demos would resume on Monday, setting the stage for a confrontation between the police and Cord supporters.
Police on Saturday banned both Cord’s planned demo and a parallel rally called by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria to counter the anti-IEBC demo.
“All Cord wants is an electoral body which enjoys the support of all Kenyans and not a partisan one,” Mr Odinga said, adding that the current commission was an appendage of Jubilee and could not be trusted to conduct a free and fair election.
Mr Odinga also denied claims that the governments of Tanzania and Rwanda were behind the demos to remove the Jubilee government from power.
He was accompanied by senators James Orengo (Siaya), Johnstone Muthama (Machakos), Governors Hassan Joho (Mombasa) and Nathif Jama (Garissa) and MPs Mohamed Dahiye, Junet Mohamed and Irshad Sumra.
But speaking at Thika High School yesterday during a prize- giving day, Mr Duale said that the only way to resolve the IEBC stalemate was by following the law.
“There are institutions which we, as a government, are not happy with but we cannot just disband them without following due process,” he said.
“It is through the same respect for the Constitution that we cannot remove Hon Gladys Wanga, a committee member of the Parliamentary Service Commission for violating standing orders of the House,” he added.
He said that MPs have an issue with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission but they could not remove its chair Sarah Serem without following due process.
He said that as leaders, they must portray humility and respect for fellow leaders.
“Leadership is not about chance, it is through God’s divine intervention. If you want to lead, be ready to be led,” Mr Duale said.
