Empty talk won’t derail graft purge, warns Raila

NASA leader Raila Odinga has said no amount of bickering will stop him and President Uhuru Kenyatta from fighting corruption.

He told those jittery about the purge against graft in public offices to stop making noise and carry their own crosses.

Raila spoke Friday as opposition leaders attacked Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen for reportedly undermining the March 9 handshake and linking Raila to the Mau Forest evictions.

The former premier announced they had agreed with the President to use the good relations cemented by the handshake to fight corruption, electoral injustices and tribalism. Without mentioning names, the opposition leader said some leaders were restless about the ongoing purge on corruption and his relationship with the President.

Public convention

“Kenyans must ignore these leaders jumping up and down to undermine gains we have made. “Wawache kuruka ruka,” (They should stop panicking),” said the NASA leader.

He added: “They should stop hiding behind their tribes to protect them. Such thieves should be held responsible individually and not as tribes.”

Speaking in Nyamira Friday during the burial of Governor John Nyagarama’s son, George Ndemo, Railasaid his good relationship with President Kenyatta was already bearing fruits. He warned leaders opposed to the handshake and the war on corruption that Kenyans were watching them.

The NASA leader reiterated that the proverbial Canaan which he promised Kenyans was real and likened the handshake and his dialogue with former presidents Kibaki and Moi to bridges he was building to ferry people to Canaan.

“We shook hands for the sake of this country and for the shake of our people,” he told mourners.

Earlier, Raila said his agreement with Uhuru to fight corruption will culminate into a national public convention on corruption.

“Corruption killed coffee, its killing the sugar industry, it has claimed maize farming in Rift and we shall not relent in getting rid of it from the country,” he said.

Leaders who accompanied Raila demanded an apology from Murkomen over his remarks on Mau Forest which they said amounted to hate speech.

They accused the Leader of Majority of fighting to derail thegGovernment’s goodwill to eradicate corruption.

Senate Minority Leader James Orengo and his National Assembly counterpart Junet Mohamed, Senators Moses Kajwang (Homa Bay) and Sam Ongeri (Kisii) accused Murkomen of pushing the ethnic agenda in the fight against corruption. They accused the Majority Leader of blackmailing the Jubilee government in the Senate.

Orengo warned Murkomen against dragging Raila’s name into every issue, saying they were not peers.

Junet said that it was unfortunate that some senior leaders in the opposition were claiming that since the handshake, Raila has stopped putting the Jubilee government on its toes.

“Raila is in a different league now and people should not expect him to be commenting on everything,” said Mohammed.

Ongeri said the handshake had created a conducive environment for peace and economic growth.  

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