Mandago bans ICC outreach meeting in Eldoret

Eldoret, Kenya: Uasin Gishu County Governor Jackson Mandago has banned an International Criminal Court (ICC) public participation meeting that was scheduled to take place in Eldoret.

The governor explained that the intention and timing of the meeting was not genuine because it was likely to rouse tension in the region.

He noted that ICC representatives were not honest because their schedules for the meetings almost coincided with the Deputy President’s appearance at The Hague.

“Why is it always that when William Ruto’s ICC proceedings are scheduled to run is when the ICC coordinators organise these sensitisation meetings?” asked the administrator.

He noted that he had personally written to the ICC Coordinator Maria Mabinty Kamara advising her not to kick off her scheduled meeting.

“These people are just trying to incite people’s emotions yet people have already healed from the violence that rocked the region, we want to move forward not to be reminded of the past,” Mandago said.

The governor stated that the residents had reconciled and were moving on with their lives and had forgotten the past.

Mandago had in the past cancelled an ICC outreach program that was to air the live ICC proceedings in the town.

Kamara confirmed that the meeting was not going to be held in Eldoret but could not confirm if the governor had cancelled it.

“The meeting is not going to kick off but on the issue of the cancellation by the governor I will get back to you,” she said.

Recently the governor had warned the official government opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) against holding their meetings in Uasin Gishu but later retracted the notice.

“We gained the authority to rule ourselves 51 years ago, last year we voted in the Jubilee government and we should give it time to work, mass action is not what Kenyans need but development,” said Mandago.

According to the Governor, it is the obligation for every citizen and even the opposition leaders to ensure that peace is not tampered with at any cost.

The governor was speaking after launching and supervising the repair and maintenance of the Maili Nne-Kapsaos road in Eldoret.

He cited incompetence of Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) saying that their contractors were not meeting the requirements for road construction which led to poor workmanship.

Mandago noted that no contract will be given to the authority since they have in the past failed to execute their mandate to the satisfaction of the residents.