Raila's Open Letter to Uhuru Kenyatta...and some.

Dr. Job

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I wish again to convey my sincere condolences to the people of Mpeketoni, Lamu County, over the senseless and brutal killings of many innocent Kenyans and to share with you the grief and sadness over the tragic events that occurred in the county. This occurrence is an unfortunate additional tragedy to the now growing and harrowing statistics of attacks that the Kenyan people have suffered over the last one year.

We must stand together as a nation to fight terrorism in all its forms and your Excellency can be assured of my full support in the war against terror. I commend the people of Kenya who have shown unity and resilience and demonstrated courage and patriotism in defence of the motherland.

Last year after the Supreme Court heard and determined my petition challenging the presidential elections, I accepted the verdict. I did that as a true believer in constitutionalism and the rule of law and declared that Kenya is greater than any one of us.

However, since then, Kenya has been faced with major problems and challenges that may tear the country apart if not immediately addressed. I have chosen the path of dialogue as the lawful and sensible way of dealing with what the country faces today.

There are obvious signs that if we do not confront these problems and challenges now through a structured process of national dialogue then the road to peace will be thorny and difficult.

I seek no office or reward. CORD does not want to share power with the Jubilee administration. We have a constitutional mandate as the opposition in parliament and as a coalition of political parties. However, the problems and challenges facing the country cannot all be addressed as an exercise of law making or oversight. Nor can they be resolved on the basis of the classical interplay between the three arms of government.

All sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and the people may exercise their sovereign power directly. The national values and principles of governance include participation of the people. We are seeking national dialogue within the context of the Constitution and not outside it.

I therefore urge you, my brother, to read the words of Prophet Isaiah found in Chapter 1, Verse 18 (King James Version);

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it".

These words constituted the political choices that Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior took and which later informed and guided the resolution of the national question in South Africa. So I offer the hand of peace and an olive branch so that we may "dwell in unity, peace and liberty" and in happiness and prosperity.

CORD wishes to put on the table of dialogue five issues, which are; inclusivity and national unity, devolution, corruption, the electoral process and national security.

INCLUSIVITY AND NATIONAL UNITY

One of the running themes of the Constitution is the question of unity and inclusivity as a mechanism of slaying the hydra of tribalism, racism and other forms of discrimination. And every state organ and institution is required to be guided by the principles of competitiveness and transparent processes of appointment of state officers and the promotion of gender equality in the management of public affairs. Recruitment in state organs must reflect the diversity of the Kenyan people in equitable proportions. No single community, group or coalition should establish a hegemony over the public service or the distribution of state resources.

These are the standards and the imperatives set by the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya. Less than a year after the last general elections, several communities are feeling excluded on the basis of ethnicity, identity or gender.

DEVOLUTION

One of the objects of devolution is to ensure that there is equitable sharing of national and local resources throughout Kenya. The guarantee for achieving this is found both in Article 203(2) and (3) as read together with Article 229 of the Constitution. In requiring that the Auditor General, the Executive and Parliament conclude financial audit in time, the Constitution protects the counties from the mischief by the National Government of using historical and old audited and approved accounts in the division of revenue. The funds allocated to the counties must be based on the audited accounts of the financial year immediately preceding the current financial year. The county governments have lost nearly 600 billion shillings in 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 because the National Treasury has used outdated accounts for the purposes of sharing of revenue between the national government and the county governments.

The centralism of the old order has been retained by establishing and restructuring the provincial administration in its old tradition and format as a tool of colonialism before 1963 first and later the imperial presidency after independence. The interventions of the National Government through the Ministry of Devolution and Planning and other agencies are suffocating devolution and down grading and undermining the relationship between the two levels of government which otherwise must be conducted on the basis of consultation and cooperation between distinct and inter-dependent entities.

CORRUPTION

Despite promises made that corruption will be eradicated, the menace has resurrected vigorously and has compromised flagship projects of Vision 2030 and new development initiatives. The unlawful payment of Kshs. 4.5 billion to Anglo-Leasing related companies is shrouded in mystery and raises questions of lack of integrity, transparency and accountability. The Standard Gauge Railway project, which is a key and vital development in the expansion and modernization of Kenya's infrastructure, has raised serious credibility concerns and it would appear that costs have been escalated in order to accommodate rents and kickbacks for brokers. Major questions are being raised about the probity and accountability of several pork-barrel and ‘sweetheart' deals in the energy, oil, mining and agricultural sectors. Mega projects have become the handmaiden of grand corruption.

ELECTORAL PROCESS AND THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL AND BOUNDARIES COMMISSION

The Kriegler Commission articulated the basis for the reform of the electoral law in Kenya. The problems of 2007 general elections visited 2013 general elections and currently there is no doubt that unless a proper review and overhaul is undertaken, the conduct of free and fair elections will continue to be a mirage in Kenya.

It is not my wish to contest the results of the presidential elections held in 2013. Rather, I want Kenya to develop a political culture based on the proposition that elections should not be remembered through the repulsive images of disputes and even conflicts that arise after every election but rather by the power and might of the ballot exercised and cast in freely contested democratic election.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Under Articles 238 and 239 of the Constitution, the national security organs have important functions of protecting life, freedom and property. They protect Kenya's territorial integrity and sovereignty against external and internal threats. The security organs need the unequivocal support and cooperation of the people particularly by denying terrorists and criminal elements sanctuary in our land. But we have been hit very hard and complacency and firefighting activities will not rid Kenya of terrorist attacks. People have lost confidence in our national security system and feel disappointed with the incompetent leadership at the head of our security and intelligence organs. Questions are also being raised about our military operation in Somalia not in terms of its validity or legitimacy but in terms of longevity and lack of clear operational objectives.

In terms of the confluence and the fast and furious sequence of terrorist activities, 2014 may turn out to be the worst year since the attacks on the American Embassy in 1998 as Kenya lost in two days this week more than 70 people in Mpeketoni. This is besides the shooting, grenade attacks and IED explosions in Diani, the church in Likoni, Pangani Police Station, Mwembe Tayari, the outskirts of the Reef Hotel in Nyali, Thika Road, Nairobi and Gikomba market. And we are still counting. To deal with this sequel of terror and its fatal and devastating effects the nation must sit and dialogue together and in unison combat terror and other invasions to our peace, prosperity and the rule of law.

I want to assure your Excellency that we hold no grudges nor do we want to interfere with your tenure and that of the jubilee administration as the President and the Government of the Republic of Kenya. We have been holding very peaceful rallies as a way, under the Constitution, of engaging the people in an open and public discourse on how we can make Kenya great and prosperous; a free nation, a people liberated and an independent country in the international community of nations.


RAILA AMOLO ODINGA
NAIROBI, 20TH JUNE 2014
 
16-Point Open Letter to President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta from Mr. Eliud Owalo


Mr. Eliud Owalo



20TH JUNE, 2014
TO: H.E UHURU MUIGAI KENYATTA,
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA,
STATE HOUSE,
NAIROBI.


Dear Mr. President

RE: OPEN LETTER TO YOU ON MISMANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Yes, Mr. President, the Country is evidently besieged by several problems and threats, and the general public is apprehensive and needs guidance. In this regard, the issues affecting the people include high cost of living beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, run-away inflation, widespread and destructive state of insecurity, debilitating corruption in high corridors of power leading to wastage of public funds and resources, unemployment and entrenched ethnicity in recruitment to Public Service, ethnic discrimination in service delivery including access to Government contracts as well as youth and women funds.

On insecurity, your appeal to the citizenry, echoed daily in the media, to cooperate with the Government especially law enforcement agencies in efforts towards curbing insecurity is in order. But this message which is replayed almost daily on local television is inadvertently contradictory and consequently unhelpful in addressing the insecurity issue at hand. In any case, your Government was already in power during the JKIA fire outbreak, Westgate Mall attack, and the Bungoma, Ahero, Muhoroni, Garissa and Mandera killings. However, there was no talk then of ethnic profiling in the killings as is the case now following the Mpeketoni killings in Lamu.

In fact, the Government promised a public inquiry into the Westgate Mall attack and Airport fire outbreak but there has never been such inquiry or reports thereof. And with regards to ethnic profiling in Mpeketoni killings, you are just but inadvertently giving terrorists incentive for success.

And, this is why.

First, just in the run-up to and after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, the level of awareness amongst the citizenry had become extremely high and this has been sustained to date. Most people in the Country are not only aware of the laws of the land but are also able to analyze and draw conclusions on issues of concern to them, as such issues unfold. They are able to differentiate between truth and falsehoods out of statements and allegations emanating from political leaders.

Second, following the 2013 Presidential Elections whose results were judicially challenged, the Country has remained politically divided into two halves. Statistically, it has remained difficult to discern if there was an outright winner in the last Presidential elections, hence the sharp division which exists in the Country and which needs to be fully addressed in order to engender national unity and cooperation in the fight against terrorism, ethnicity, graft, marginalization, neglect and nepotism. Consequently, the ongoing call for National Dialogue should be considered and adopted.

Third, your daily appeal to the citizenry to assist in curbing insecurity by volunteering information is bound to land in deaf ears for as long as your Government continues to unnecessarily castigate and vilify some national leaders in the Country along ethnic and party lines. Such attacks on innocent and well meaning leaders are seen as an act of disrespect to them by their followers and will go further to alienate their followers from cooperating with your Government, over and above the already questionable legitimacy.

Forth, your Government continues to exhibit an insatiable preference to one ethnic community in the recruitment to Public Service jobs, positions in National Security organs, access to Government services and contracts, etc. In the context of the current state of economic hardships facing the citizens, this discriminative practice by your Government is pretty clear to all and sundry and invokes high level of resentment from many quarters. I submit that such a practice can never engender the rest of the populace to the Government, in any way.

Fifth, your Government's foreign policy direction continues to aggravate the suffering of the citizens in several ways, including but not limited to scarcity in foreign exchange especially from the West where most of such earnings traditionally comes from. It also continues to destroy the tourism Sector as evidenced by the recent massive evacuation of foreign tourists from the Country; and National Wildlife through the killing of Elephants, Rhino etc; an activity in which new foreign partners and Government officials have been repeatedly implicated and prosecuted.

Sixth, Your Government promised to assist the youth and women with financial support from the Kshs 6 Billion, which was initially set aside for use in a re-run presidential poll, in the event such a poll became necessary. However, there have been protests, complaints and queries in the manner in which the so – called youth and women funds are being used to benefit only the youth and women from one ethnic group.

Seventh, your Government has entrenched impunity in the Country by arrogantly displaying blatant disrespect to the rule of law as exemplified by disregard of Court Orders by senior officials of the Government, even in cases where such officials have openly acted in contravention of the law.

Eighth, Your Government has shown disturbing hostility to other political leaders and parties in their efforts to exercise their constitutional mandate to engage the citizenry in public discourse aimed at addressing issues of concern to them including developmental matters.

Ninth, Your Government has consistently made efforts to undermine the letter and spirit of devolution by creating unconstitutional and parallel administrative structures at the County Government level as manifested by the appointment of County Commissioners.

Tenth, Your Government has refused to heed the popular demand for the overhaul and comprehensive audit of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), despite the fact that there is glaring evidence of incompetence, partiality, under-performance, mismanagement and continued wastage of public funds by the electoral body in matters relating to procurement of electoral materials, preparation and supervision of electoral processes. Since credible elections confer legitimacy to govern, it is imperative to re-organize the IEBC to ensure free and fair elections in future.

Eleventh, Your Government appears to be opposed to the legitimate activities of opposition political parties and their leaders yet the Political Parties Act envisages and empowers the parties to remain active throughout the year, hence the funding.

Twelfth, Your Government has continued to witness serious cases of high-level corruption; including questionable payment of huge sums of money to Anglo leasing fraudsters, unconvincing zeal in pursuit of the laptops project and rolling out of the standard rail gauge project e.t.c; all in questionable and dubious circumstances and in total disregard to concerns raised by the Kenyan public.
Thirteenth, Your Government through the Ministry of Lands has continued to interfere with the independence of the National land Commission (NLC) in contravention of the Constitution and related laws.

Fourteenth, Your Government has failed to implement the recommendations of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) Report.

Fifteenth, Despite the fact that Article 2 of the Constitution of Kenya explicitly states that sovereign power belongs to the people and may be exercised directly by the people or indirectly by the executive, legislature and the judiciary, your Government seems to be oblivious of this fact and has so far acted as if the people have no such powers to even get together to address National issues of concern to them.

Sixteenth, in order to fully address the afforestated problems bedeviling the Country, your Government needs to urgently and soberly consider intervention options which have so far been proposed by sections of the populace. And such intervention options include fast and foremost facilitating a National dialogue to deliberate on the cited issues among others. Specifically, the Country's leadership must consider the full implementation of Agenda four of the Serena Talks, which focused largely on security sector reforms. Related issues for consideration under the National Dialogue should include full implementation of the Constitution in the context of the devolved system of governance in the Country, creating opportunities to citizens from all Kenyan ethnic groups to serve in the Public Service and to access Government services including contracts.

In conclusion Mr. President, the cardinal responsibility of any Government is to first and foremost protect the lives and property of its citizens. Thus, as the President, you're not only the Chief Executive of the Country but also the Commander in Chief of all our Security Organs. You are the ultimate centre of accountability in the Country and so there is no point of unconvincing apportionment of blame here and there. The buck stops with you, Mr. President.


Sincerely,
ELIUD OWALO
 
Raila, please stop misleading your people that you represent them. They have senators, MPs, and MCAs who represent them. Please don't usurp the powers of these elected officials.
 
Mlichagua kabila Sio president na hiyo thambi itawatafuna wakenya wote mpaka muache ukabila, mchague mtu mwenye uwezo wa Kuwa raisi wa wakenya wote.
 
as far as kenya's political struggle is concerned,one day lawmaina78 and his tribal associates,in a state of denial will seek asylum in tz when a jaluo or none kikuyu becomes the president of kenya.lmao
 
Last edited by a moderator:
kadoda11 said:
as far as kenya's political struggle is concerned,one day lawmaina78 and his tribal associates,in a state of denial will seek asylum in tz when a jaluo or none kikuyu becomes the president of kenya.lmao
Click to expand...

We had a non-Kikuyu rule Kenya for 24 years, the longest period a seating president has ruled us.
 
lawmaina78 said:
We had a non-Kikuyu rule Kenya for 24 years, the longest period a seating president has ruled us.
Click to expand...

poor kalenjin who ruled you for 24yrs, are known to be faithful ossociates of kikuyus since moi's era. in respect to that, mount kenya mafia uses them to give a boost for political powers.
 
Two points into sixteen points,huyu jamaa ni mzuri sana kwenye kuandika essay
 
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