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By:
HARRISON MAINA | |||||||||
| Posted:
Nov,18-2017 15:37:13
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JERSEY CITY, NJ__Raila Odinga, Kenya's opposition chief who recently withdrew from the election rerun ordered by the Supreme court met the Kenyan community in eastern coast of the USA last week before he returns back to Kenya Thursday following a two week US tour where he delivered a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) regarding recent developments in Kenya. On Thursday, Odinga met with Kenyans in Washington DC Thursday before holing a Townhall meeting on Friday at the Hilton Hotel in Rockville, Maryland in an event organized by the DC Metropolitan ODM (Orange Democratic Movement) Chapter. On Saturday, he proceeded to New Jersey for another town hall meeting at the St. Patrick's High School Auditorium in Jersey City followed by an evening dinner party from 8pm at the Clinton Manor Banquet Hall in Union, New Jersey. Addressing Kenyans in Maryland, Raila said the NASA coalition will continue to agitate for new, all round elections to be held in Kenya within the next 90 days where all governors, senators and presidential candidate will be subjected to a fresh election. According to Odinga, there was a dire need for fresh elections since the just concluded ones have caused the ruling Jubilee coalition to enjoy an "artificial majority".
"There were many irregularities by the election commission that led to computer generated leaders. We have about 7-8 governors and several senators. The reforms we demanded as a condition to a fair election rerun were not made and so there was no need to participate in the process," Odinga charged. He said that Nasa will continue with promoting the newly created "People's Assemblies" and economic boycotts in various counties as a way of resisting the Uhuru Kenyatta led government with a goal of bringing back the changes they desire. He also demanded the creation of an interim, caretaker government prior to a new election in 90 days and the re-introduction of the Prime Minister's position that was scrapped off in the new Constitution. According to Odinga, this will help reform the executive arm of the government to make it more inclusive of all communities in Kenya. In New Jersey, Odinga said that he was not surprised some counties in Nasa zones led by Siaya were passing laws demanding to secede from Kenya even if the Jubilee coalition of Uhuru Kenyatta prevailed in the pending supreme court litigation challenging his recent victory in the election rerun. Many NASA Diaspora supporters from many different US states from as far as Boston and California showed up at the meetings donning t-shirts, hats and buttons branded with the "Resist"slogan, NASA's latest call urging supporters to resist the Uhuru administration. Kenyans in USA have become even more polarized than ever before along tribal lines due to the current stalemate between the ruling Jubilee coalition and Raila's Nasa coalition. While many Nasa supporters are hailing and embracing the new call to resist the Kenyan government and economic boycott against businesses thought to be owned by Jubilee supporters, other Kenyans are extremely alarmed that the call is getting out of hand as the boycott is spreading to regular individual small traders living and doing business with each other in many Kenyan villages and towns. Ordinary Jubilee supporters, mainly from the Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Embu, Meru and Muslim communities from the north eastern part of Kenya are vowing to revenge the economic boycott call by to shunning any business and investment activities with Nasa supporters, majority of whom are from the Luo, Luhya, Kisii, Kamba and a section of coastal tribes. The schocking developments are leading to the undesirable result of exploding the already existing tribal divisions among the Kenyan people, thereby casting a pessimistic outlook of a motherland that has been registering strong economic gains over the last several years in line with other emerging, highly performing African economies. Kenyans who spoke to Ajabu Africa News on condition of anonymity expressed fears that the motherland is about to disintegrate along ethnic and tribal lines, with possible outbreak of violence that would leave ordinary masses suffering and struggling to get by. The New Jersey dinner party tickets sold for $100 each strictly on RSVP basis. Odinga is expected to leave the US on Wednesday to arrive back home Thursday. | |||||||||
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Source:
AJABU AFRICAN NEWS
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