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CORD leader Raila Odinga visits to console with co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka at his Karen home. Mr Kalonzo lost his elder sister Lilian Koli Mutui on Tuesday. She was buried on Saturday. NATION MEDIA GROUP
By DANIEL TSUMA NYASSY
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More by this Author Cord leaders Saturday told the government to withdraw Kenyan troops from Somalia following frequent terror attacks in the country.
Cord principals Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula said the country should make a tactical retreat from the neighbouring country and put in place a new strategy to stem the rampant attacks by Al Shabaab where hundreds of citizens have died.
Addressing mourners at the burial of Musyokas sister Mrs Lillian Mutui at Mwamtsefu village in Lungalunga sub-county in Kwale, the opposition leaders hit out at the Jubilee government for what they said was its total failure to address insecurity since coming to power in 2013.
Raila accused President Kenyatta for displaying arrogance when foreign states issued warnings over pending attacks.
Arrogance will not help us resolve the problem of insecurity in the country. The most important thing is for us to sit down and think where the rain started beating us.
He said the country should emulate the US which withdrew its forces from Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and other violent areas in order to safeguard the rights of their citizens.
Mr Wetangula said the government should cut down the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) budget by 50 per cent and divert the resources towards strengthening internal security.
The government should reduce the military budget by even 50 per cent in order to boost internal security. This will ensure police officers are well equipped and paid in order to motivate them to protect our people better, he said.
POLICE RECRUITS
Leader after another opposed President Uhurus directive that the 10,000 police recruits whose exercise was stopped by the court should report for training saying it was a blatant abuse of the rule of law.
Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar said if the directive will be implemented, it will set precedence for future violation of the courts in the country.
If you give the President one chance of ruling against decisions made by the courts, he will make other 1000 such decisions in future, said the senator.
Mr Musyoka accused the Jubilee government of going against an agreement among front line states bordering Somalia Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya that they would never take their forces to Somalia.
That is where the rain started beating us. There is no need for us to militarize Somalia because we are exposing ourselves for attack. The problems in Somalia, like those in Kenya, will only be resolved by the Somalis and Kenyans themselves, not anybody else, he said.
Kwale County Governor Salim Mvurya and Embakasi MP Irshad Sumra supported the campaign to remove KDF from Somalia.
Mr Omar and his Machakos counterpart Mr Johnstone Muthama said that the deteriorating security situation in the country was a clear indication that the Jubilee government has failed and should pack and go.
Police officers were killed in Kapedo, Mandera, Baragoi, Mpeketoni, Westgate, Mandera and Garisa but upto now, the President has not given any official statement to explain what really happened and the mechanism put in place to stop similar tragedies in future, said Muthama.