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Report from ODM Kisumu Prayers

Written by Updates

Tuesday, 22 January 2008

ODM leaders led thousands of their supporters in prayers at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu yesterday. Published here is an account of an ODM supporter who was in attendance.

It was an emotional time. I counted about six coffins. I heard that there were ten other coffins at the Kenyatta Sports Ground. Everyone mourned with the family members, everyone was crying, Raila, Ruto, the clergymen and the people in the stadium.
People kept demanding things from Raila. One of these was guns. They yelled GUNS! GUNS! Some even had placards with "WE WANT GUNS." Raila tried to brush it aside, but they chanted until he had to address the gun issue. *So Raila agreed to talk to Kibaki about arming the residents of Kisumu so that they can protect themselves. Personally, the last thing I want to see on the ground is guns!
ODM will file a case against Michuki, Saitoti and the Police Commissioner at the International Court of Justice at the Hague.
He asked Luos in Nyanza to accomodate members of the Kisii community since they were part of the business community. Raila talked about the shortage of food in Kisumu and said that the Kisiis should be allowed back since they provided the area with food. Also Kisiis, he said, were ODM supporters and Kibaki had stolen their votes.
Raila was firm about his demands. He looked forward to the meeting with [former UN Secretary General] Kofi Annan and Kibaki. He said he will discuss only two issues: why will Kibaki not step down after losing and stealing the elections and why Kibaki will not go for a re-run if he won the elections. If nothing good comes out of this meeting, Raila said that there will be countrywide mass actions for three days beginning Friday.

*Editor's Note: According to Reuters and other news sources, Raila said to his supporters on the issue of the guns:

"I want Kibaki to listen to this, my people are telling me to give them guns," Odinga said in the local Luo language.
But he added: "We will not remove Kibaki by using guns, we will vote him out."

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Just so you know
written by Shiroh , January 22, 2008

The ICJ does not deal with matters of individuals and state and so do many other international organizations.

Anyway thats moving, i hope they will do so for other residents of Rift Valley & so..

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re: Just so you know
written by aeichener , January 22, 2008

The ICJ does not deal with matters of individuals and state and so do many other international organizations.

The ICJ does not, but the ICC (International Criminal Court) does. These two very different courts are freqently - one could even say regularly - mixed up in Kenyan press and parlance.

Alexander

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written by kamwari , January 22, 2008

They seriously want Guns?? as in seriously???

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ICC
written by Brian Muthiora , January 22, 2008

The politics never ends. Neither ODM nor PNU can sustain an argument against the other in the ICC. ODM probably wants to keep the fire burning by misleading its supporters that it will prosecute the government or government officers at the ICC. That court only has jurisdictions over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

We are not yet at war (thankfully) so no one can accuse another for war crimes.

The police shootings and killings in the North Rift would only qualify for crimes against humanity if they are part of a widespread systemic practice directed against any civilian population. The classic crimes against humanity involve a serious attack on human dignity, or grave humiliation, or a degradation of one or more human beings as part of government policy (e.g apartheid) charges ODM will be hard pressed to prove. 600 dead (or thereabouts) both as a result of riots and the skirmishes in the North Rift is not "widespread" nor is it part of government policy to humiliate and degrade a people.

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, religious or national group either in whole or in part. This, again, is no the case even in the Rift Valley where the military intervened to rescue victims. As Dr. Edwin Bikundo, who is arguably Kenya's foremost scholar on international criminal responsibility will attest, what we face in Kenya are riots or at most, tumult.

It is doubtful the ICC would entertain pleadings whereas local courts in Kenya have the jurisdiction and capacity to resolve charges brought before them.

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Yes, Kamwari, they want guns.
written by Anon. , January 22, 2008

I can understand why they would want guns. When children are killed by bullets that are supposed to protect them (i.e. from the police), what do you expect? This demand should be treated with the seriousness it deserves. These are people who are rapidly inching towards hopelessness and desperation. Can you blame them? 40 years of exclusion from mainstream governance and economy, and now, children dying at the hands of the "Utumishi kwa wote" blues. I am not justifying anything, I am pleading for understanding. Raila: please dont give them guns. Kibaki: kindly let up. Let's start to build the Kenya that we'd like our grandchildren to live in. To both of you: Koffi Anan is coming and just so you know...we welcome good news.

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Where were Ngilu and Nyaga
written by a guest , January 22, 2008

Does anyone know if Ngilu and Nyaga attended the Kisumu meeting (I have a problem calling a meeting where guns to kill other tribes are discussed "prayers")?

i don't think they attended......and I'm willing to bet their security was a key consideration in that decision, being from "adui" tribes.

Well Ngilu and Nyaga, that what you get for supporting tribalist leaning campaigns.

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Raila\'s tribal monster
written by a guest , January 23, 2008

Why would Raila, who claims to be a statesman, ask Lous not to fight Kisiis, but does not address the attacks and displacement of Kikuyus from Kisumu?

The only conceivable reason in my opinion is that he is still trying to play his kikuyu isolation politics...he is basically telling the Lous that it is ok to fight kikuyus but not kisiis because the kikuyus stole the kisiis votes.

Well Raila, one thing you would have learnt by no is that once you start playing the ethnic card, it ends up growing into a monster that you cannot control.

Raila begun by trying to isolate the kikuyu. Now he is tyring to isolate the kamba because they did not vote for him, while his lou community took the que and have now effectively isolated the kisiis from ODM.

i just read reports in the standard of fighting on the border of Rift Valley and Western. The article basically claims that former "allies" are now turing on each other. Interpreted, taht means that Kalenjin and Luyha communities along the Rift Valley / western border are now fighting each other!

here is the link and an excerpt:

In the border of the North Rift and Western Province, the violence took a new twist when erstwhile political allies turned on one another.

Fighting raged even as MPs Mr George Khaniri (Hamisi), Dr Sally Kosgei (Aldai) and Mr Elijah Lagat (Emgwen) tried to broker peace.

Raila and his ODM strategists must now be sweating, realising that according to their tribal arithmetic, they and their supporters have by now isolated too many communities and are now even fighting amongst themselves to form a large enough voting block to win a re-run.

Well raila/ODM, next time before you nurture an ethnicity 'baby', be think ahead and be prepared for the monster it will grow into.

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written by Kori , January 23, 2008

People kept demanding things from Raila. One of these was guns. They yelled GUNS! GUNS! Some even had placards with "WE WANT GUNS." Raila tried to brush it aside, but they chanted until he had to address the gun issue. So Raila agreed to talk to Kibaki about arming the residents of Kisumu so that they can protect themselves. Personally, the last thing I want to see on the ground is guns!

Raila is a joke! He does not want to talk to Kibaki "dialogue". But is happy to talk to Kibaki about Luos arming themselves.

1. that is irresponsible especially with the tension in kenya.

2. that will justify more shooting from the police "self defence"

3. they donot need any guns to protect themselves all perceived enemies are out unless they fear looting and theifing relatives
4. Other communities will not sit and watch the lous arming themselves, a lesson has be learnt, they bought pangas, nothing was done and they have used them against innocent people.

5. once guns are introduced he may finds himself on the receiving end since he will always be seen as a reason there are premature orphans and bereavement.

Raila must avoid at all costs making silly statements to please his followers

(All politicians should avoid that. Ed.]

since some will take what he said as a green light and acquire guns.

(Raila has been reported to have spoken out *against* the people arming themselves.
Here is the full BBC quotation:
Supporters of the opposition leader, who believes he was cheated of victory in the 27 December election, waved banners that read: "Give us guns and they will see!"
But Mr Odinga told them: "I'm telling him [Mr Kibaki] that my people are asking me to give them guns but I'm telling them I'll give them the ballot box instead."
Source:
Call him a hypocrite or two-tongued if you must, but do not allege that he stated the contrary of what he apparently said, unless you can prove it. So if you know this BBC media report to be wrong (and he has actually said the contrary), then by all means quote him in full and give the correct version. Ed.)

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written by Kori , January 23, 2008

(Non sequitur deleted. Do not project on Raila the contrary of what he said. Ed.)

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Concerened citizen
written by Victoria , January 24, 2008

It is like Ngugi wa Thiongo stated in his call for investigations of the ethnic-based violence, (the opposition party during an election bid is a "potential" government and just like any governement, should not be allowed by propaganda or any other method to margnalize any ethnic community). Raila if he were concerend about the current situation would not be calling for luos to allow just the Kiisis back into the area- claiming that "Kisiis, were ODM supporters and Kibaki had stolen their votes" etc thats just irrresponsible as it implies that while ODM supporters shouldnt be attacked, what about the others???. He should say uinequivocally that it doesnt matter who you support or what your political affiliation is (not to mention your ethnicity ),kenya is a democracy and it is every individuals constitutional right to vote for the party/ candidate of choice and nobody should have been chased from the area period! Otherwise he shouldnt be pointing fingers about lack of democracy and dictatorships etcetc.

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Raila can say anything
written by annonymous , February 05, 2008

I am perturbed when you say that people in Nyanza asked their leader for guns. my question would be to fight who? the answer is PNU (Kikuyu) who they perceive as their enemy to the doors of statehouse. History will judge Raila harshly. I was a young person in 1982 when about 1500 people died and several others maimed during the attempted coup which he initiated, he should now be ashamed of his acts the other day he said Kenya will be like those west African countries who have known no peace. One wonders, with the deaths already of about 1000 people majority being his enemy tribe the Kikuyu what he is expecting to gain after all things.
He is a hypocrite when the Luo are chasing their wives because these are descended from the same tribe his son is enjoying his matrimony with a member of. I sympathise with the common or poor Luo who is made to carry out these crimes for the personal gain of a single individual.
And together with his best friend Ruto they should know he has children who will not be better than those sleeping in the cold, orphaned, widowed etc. Time has a way of catching up with crimes of this nature.

Let Kenyans keep on praying and to my friends the Luo guns will not be a solution you better wake up from slumber and realise whom you need are more of the Tuju leadership, one that delivers tangible results and less of the Odinga kind which uses you as slaves to achieve its selfish ends.

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