Chungwa Moja - ODM STATEMENT ON SECURITY AND THE STATE OF THE NATION The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has taken stock of the State of the nation and resolved as follows: CONVINCED that the security situation in Kenya now poses an existential threat to the Kenyan Nation State, we join Kenyan civil society in calling for the President to exercise leadership in this crucial area before it is too late. Already, the National Government has lost effective control over half this countrys geographical land mass. Kenyans are killed seemingly at will and even the security services are not spared. From Westgate and Eastleigh in Nairobi to Mpeketoni and Lamu to Kapedo and Mombasa. The story is the same in Tana River, Garissa, Isiolo, Baringo, Bungoma, Samburu, Turkana and Mandera. Across the land, Kenyans have nowhere to hide from attackers. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. We call on President Uhuru Kenyatta to take his duties as Head of State seriously. Never before have we Kenyans had the Presidency subjected to the abuse it has endured especially since the saddening murder of 28 innocent Kenyans in Mandera two weeks ago. The Presidency is bigger than any man or woman. It is an Office that carries the respect, aspirations and spirit of the Kenyan people. If Mr. Kenyatta has found the job too difficult or if he has lost taste for it, then Kenyatta must step down! REMINDING the government of the offer we made as Opposition to enter into dialogue in regard to these issues several months ago, we express our disappointment in the strongest possible terms that the Jubilee regime continues to handle matters of national security in a manner that is disjointed, cavalier, haphazard and with little apparent consideration for the lives and property of the Kenyan people. This has created a climate of fear and despondency that is spreading. National Security cannot be reduced to photo opportunities, spin and sound bites. It is much more serious than that. In this regard, we particularly call for the shutting down of the State House-based Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU) Dennis Itumbi. This PSCU with its sometimes infantile, ill-informed, unprofessional attempts to speak for the Presidency has served only to anger, confuse, divide and become the laughing stock of Kenyans. Kenyans have no reason to continue funding what is clearly a party propaganda unit that thrives on misinformation and is determined to continue the unending partisan campaign using tax payers’ money. The country cannot be run on the basis of perpetual spin and photo opportunities. Elections are long over. Kenyans want action and substance. We also take note of the continuing revelations in the UK regarding the conduct of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) officials. It is not the first time the integrity of the IEBC is being put to question. The legitimacy of the IEBC has never been this low. The trust in the body has never been lower. The competence and impartiality of the IEBC has never been this questioned. Once again, we call on the relevant authorities to arrest and prosecute all those mentioned in the “chicken scandal” emerging in the UK. There can be no justification for the tax payers to continue paying a group that has been fingered for every imaginable crime an election body can be accused of while it gets increasingly clear that the team as currently constituted cannot be trusted with another election. DETERMINED that we shall not merely sit by and watch as this situation worsens, we join civil society and call on the government and in particular the President to exercise his constitutionally mandated responsibilities and leadership of this country. Only this can return a measure of faith in the governments determination to protect its people regardless of race, creed, ethnicity or colour. In particular we call on all leaders to remain vigilant against efforts to divide the people of this great country along religious lines - Muslim versus Christian. It is not in our tradition as Kenyans and we are proud of our spirit of tolerance. We stand ready to defend this special spirit. CONVINCED that the current condition of insecurity is linked to the involvement of the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) in Somalia, we demand that the government provide Kenyans with an exit strategy from Somalia and further define what success looks like in that operation. Thus far it has brought only misery to Kenyans, allowed the guzzling of billions of shillings and Kenyans have a right to know why and what the wider plan underway is. CONVINCED that the intended merging of the Interior and Defense ministries as reported in the media is unconstitutional and unwise, we oppose this move in the strongest possible terms. We instead call on the Chief of General Staff General Joseph Karangi to equally take responsibility for the failure of the military to protect Kenyans from external attacks. Mandera attacks, like that of Westgate and many others have been perpetrated by external forces. Yet general Karangi has seen no need to explain to Kenyans why he cannot step down and when our nation will be safe. WE OPPOSE in the strongest terms the ongoing militarization of internal security in Kenya. The bizarre idea of merging the Interior and Defense ministries may be born of this same backward and unconstitutional thinking that must be resisted by all Kenyans of goodwill while we at the same time demand that the top brass of all our security units take responsibility. WE HEREBY RESOLVE to join with like-minded parties and groups and embark on countywide meetings, rallies and other gatherings informed by a common altruistic purpose for Kenya to save Kenya from the leadership failure that we bearing witness to right now.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 13:18:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015