Uhuru asks Raila not to block Kenyans from voting

President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses Garissa County residents at Garissa Primary play ground on October 16, 2017. He urged them to vote for him in the coming election. PHOTO | ABDIMALIK ISMAIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • President Kenyatta told Mr Odinga to seek votes from the electorate.
  • Mr Kenyatta said firm action would be taken against those who choose to loot or vandalise property.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has dismissed the mass protests by opposition leaders, saying no candidate should be allowed to dictate the terms of participating in an election.

The President and his deputy William Ruto, who campaigned in Garissa, Kitui and Machakos counties, asked residents to come out in large numbers on October 26 to vote and re-elect him for a second term while urging them to ignore the calls by Nasa to boycott the poll.

ELECTION

They said the Nasa leader was hiding behind mass protests for fear of defeat and sought to scuttle the repeat presidential election.

“If you are not ready to participate in this election, nobody is forcing you to.

"Just stay at home and don’t bother Kenyans who want to exercise their democratic right,” the President told Nasa leader Raila Odinga, adding that he (Mr Odinga) was the one who went to the Supreme Court to have the August 8 presidential election nullified.

NASA DEMANDS
The two, who spoke at Garissa Primary School at Zombe in Kitui and Masii in Machakos, condemned the demonstrations by Nasa that have mostly turned violent.

President Kenyatta said Kenyans had a constitutional right to participate in an election and he should respect the verdict of the Supreme Court that ordered repeat presidential poll to be conducted within 60 days.

The President said one disgruntled player in a match cannot dictate to the referee, saying Mr Odinga’s demands on the electoral agency will not be allowed to deny Kenyans a chance to choose their leaders through the ballot.

President Kenyatta told Mr Odinga to “stop wasting time on fruitless street demonstrations” and instead seek votes from the electorate.

“The Opposition is free not to participate in the fresh October 26 election but they should not prevent those who want to exercise their democratic right of choosing their leader from doing so,” he said.

DEVELOPMENT
Mr Kenyatta termed comments attributed to Siaya Senator James Orengo that Nasa will conduct their own poll a sign that the Opposition was consistent in efforts to derail the election.

He urged the communities in Ukambani region to turn out in large numbers and double the votes they gave him on August 8, so that the country can continue on the path of growth.

The President assured Kenyans that his focus will remain trained on implementing policies and projects that will continue lifting the lives of all Kenyans.

He cited construction of roads, expansion of electricity connection to households, improving health and education as key platforms of his development agenda that would be interfered with if the Opposition has its way.

KALONZO
Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto hosted Kamba leaders and residents at Zombe public park as part of the homecoming ceremony for Kitui East MP Nimrod Mbai who was elected on a Jubilee Party ticket.

Mr Kenyatta said firm action would be taken against those who choose to loot or vandalise property, and rob or injure innocent Kenyans under the guise of demonstrations.

Mr Ruto asked Mr Odinga to wait and prepare to face him in the 2022 presidential election if he is not ready for this month’s fresh election.

He claimed that Jubilee was right in its assertion that Nasa co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka was misplaced in the opposition coalition as “Mr Odinga has already started scheming for 2022 elections”.

The DP said this was proof that Mr Musyoka will not be endorsed by the former Prime Minister in 2022.

Additional reporting by Stephen Muthini