Deported Odinga ally slams peacetalks with Uhuru as a betrayal

Miguna Miguna, a staunch ally of Kenya’s opposition chief Raila Odinga has condemned the former Prime Minister over Friday’s (March 9, 2018) peacetalks with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In a statement issued barely hours after photos of the Kenyatta-Raila meeting were circulated, Miguna – currently in Canada, said he rejected Odinga’s betrayal of the People of Kenya.

Odinga told national television “it is time to resolve our differences,” as the two politicians made their first public appearance together since the Oct. 26 repeat presidential election last year https://t.co/E9RoUYvwFn

— africanews (@africanews) March 9, 2018

“I have been advised of media reports that the People’s President, Raila Amolo Odinga has “reconciled” with the despotic president Uhuru Kenyatta. I understand that Mr. Odinga has further stated that the “conflict is over” and called on the country to “reconcile and move on.

“Mr. Odinga’s unilateral, irrational and erratic decision to betray the fight for electoral justice, the culture of impunity and the flagrant abuse of human rights that have become routine under the illegitimate regime of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto cannot be justified,” he wrote.

His statement listed a litany issues ranging from deadly violence during and in the aftermath of the last electoral cycle – between August – October 2017 as the more reason that the said peacetalks were unjustified.

“Between July 2017 to the present, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto have murdered more than 380 innocent civilians in cold blood. These martyrs were butchered by agents of the illegitimate Jubilee administration they were perceived to be “supporters” of Raila Odinga,” he said.

He went as far as describe the Odingas and Kenyattas dominance in Kenya politics as a case of decades of monarchy. “The ‘bridges” Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta are talking about and intend to build will turn Kenya into an authoritarian and despotic Kenyatta and Odinga Monarchy.”

He stressed that the “reconciliation” betrayed the principles for which a banned political group, the National Resistance Movement Kenya (NRMKe) was established. He said the fight for electoral and social justice, the protection of and respect for the constitution and our fragile democracy, respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, had been compromised.

Miguna, was deported to Canada in January after leading the swearing-in ceremony of Raila as ‘The people’s president.’ The government said he held a Canadian passport and had denounced his Kenyan citizen.

A High Court has since overruled the government’s move and ordered that Miguna be allowed back into the country. He said he was due back in the country on March 26, 2018 “so as to continue the struggle for electoral justice and the culture of impunity that both Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta now represent.”