Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has written to President Uhuru Kenyatta accusing his government of enabling violence perpetuated by ODM and the Azimio Movement on their political rallies across the country. In a letter dated January 18th and also copied to the International Criminal Court (ICC), UDA cites ten different incidences where their leader ran into trouble with chaotic youth who ended up disrupting their meetings.
”We write to express our profound concern about recent deeply worrying security incidents, sustained by official inaction and condonement by the State, and their implications in the light of the impending General election, and national stability in general,” the UDA letter signed by Secretary General Veronica Maina and Chairperson Johston Mutahama reads in part.
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Meetings in Kisii town on September 8, 2020, Kenol in Murang’a on October 4, 2020, Mahoo Ward in Taita Taveta on August 24, 2021, Kieni in Nyeri on September 5, 2021, Busia on October 23, 2021, Kondele in Kisumu on November 10, 2021 and most recently the Jacaranda grounds in Nairobi are listed by UDA some of the instances the state conspired with ODM to disrupt.
”Without your impartial and proactive enforcement of the legal framework to uphold constitutional freedoms, human rights, democratic participation and national cohesion, your government will in effect be enabling the ODM and Azimio to set the stage for an extremely troubled General Election season in 2022.
On Sunday, January 16, 2022, at the Jacaranda grounds in Nairobi’s Embakasi East constituency of Nairobi County, a gang of rowdy goons chanting “ODM”, “Raila” and “Azimio” slogans violently attacked people who had turned up to listen to the Deputy President who was touring the area. As ODM becomes increasingly overwhelmed by political competition, violence remains its last desperate resort,” UDA claims.
However, in response, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) dismissed claims by UDA that its leader Raila Odinga was behind the chaos at the Jacaranda grounds on Sunday.
”Our attention has been drawn to a statement by UDA regarding events at their botched rally in Nairobi on Sunday. In the past two weeks, the national conversation has remained centred around the UDA brigade’s warning to everyone they call “madoadoa” to leave the Rift Valley, or face the consequences of making a free choice at the ballot,” ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuna said.
