ODM vs PSCU. PRESS STATEMENT STATEMENT ON SECURITY AND THE STATE OF THE NATION The Orange Democratic Movement ( ODM ) organised this meeting at the party headquarters with the aim of having members of the party proposed for the various positions in the national office meet and get to know each other ahead of the National Governing Council meeting scheduled for this Friday 5th December 2014. The meeting which was chaired by the party leader Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga saw party members resolve to work together as a family and shelve their earlier differences with a view of building a united front ahead of the next general election. The Okoa Kenya team also briefed the group on the status of our referendum push, particularly where we are with the referendum bill. During the meeting, we also took 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 Westagate 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 the President 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). 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 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 likeminded 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. ODM IS DESPERATE – AND WE UNDERSTAND IT By PSCU SENIOR DIRECTORS ODM’s statement on security and the State of the Nation is a most transparent, desperate and woefully inadequate fig-leaf to cover up its most spectacular failure: the fact that they have been unable to live up to the basic minimum of its loud pretences to democracy. The statement was released on the eve of a leadership selection exercise that cannot even hold a candle to the infamous mlolongo KANU elections in terms of democratic credentials. ODM is a sick party, ravaged most woefully by its leadership, which routinely showcases violence, nepotism, intolerance, tribalism and hypocrisy as its governing values. ODM is one entity that has nothing to show for all its time in government. Indeed, it is the least qualified entity to speak to the state of the nation, or how Governments deliver services to the people. The only good thing that can be said about this statement is that, for once, ODM did not canvass its political capers at a funeral. Nevertheless, ODM should never deceive itself that Kenyans cannot see through this playful ruse. It is notable that ODM has convened at the sunset of its democratic pretences to realign its spent ‘Okoa Jahazi’ charade with civil society antics. It is rehashing its stock narratives that have, time and again, failed to persuade Kenyans to board its ill-fated train. According to ODM, national discourse is an echo-chamber where the Opposition and civil society Mutual Admiration Society delude one another that they are serving anyone other than their dubious paymasters. We will reiterate this: there are issues with security in Kenya. We will also emphasise that Government’s efforts to set things right are ongoing in a systematic, institutional, rational and large-scale manner unprecedented in Kenya’s history. ODM is in denial; Kenya moved away from the politics of fitina and confrontation. We are now in the era of delivery, engagement and transformation. ODM is rightly afraid that it is fast sliding down the slippery slope into oblivion. We understand with their desperation. The Government remains on the side of the people. Government is delivering in a big way and is on course to fulfilling its pledges. The Government only communicates things that are happening. A lot of good work is being done, and the lives of Kenyans continue to be transformed every minute, every day. This agenda is unstoppable. Nothing the ODM or their Men in Black, wherever they are, will stop us from telling Kenyans about it. The PSCU is committed to maintaining a faithful, patriotic, transparent and informative engagement with the people of Kenya. This is to ensure that the people know what its government is doing, and that Government programmes respond to their needs. We shall not waver from this commitment, ever. We ask the people of Kenya to maintain their confidence in government. There are issues here and there, undeniably. But Government is capable and dedicated to delivering every single commitment and mandate. It is clearly impossible for ODM to avoid politicising every national challenge and demanding irrelevant, cosmetic and vain remedies. It must recover the decency to avoid seeing political opportunity in tragedies, crises and challenges that Kenyans face from time to time. It must draw its inspiration, not from funerals, but from a desire to serve. PSCU, A DISGRACE TO THE PRESIDENCY. The statement issued to the media this evening by the PSCU directors as a rebuttal the earlier statement by the NEC of the ODM party at Orange House can only be described with one word, sub-standard. It is unfortunate that a whole team of PSCU Directors can gang up to author a very clumsy and petty statement purporting to dismiss pertinent issues raised by the ODM regarding the state of insecurity in the country. A statement of this nature can only originate from a desperate brigade which has lost war. Jubilee is a sinking ship and the passengers are oblivious of their fate. Therefore throwing those kind of insults is oblivious of what is going to happen to their already leaking ship. They only deserve sympathy and pity. Orange House 1/12/2014
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 14:11:09 +0000
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