Raila Odinga tears into Jubilee over land problems in Coast

They said President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration had issued thousands of title deeds to deceive Coast residents and in order to avoid addressing the fundamental land issues in the region, citing failure to implement the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) Report.PHOTO: COURTESY

Orange party leader Raila Odinga and his Coast allies yesterday claimed Jubilee has refused to correct historical land injustices.

They said President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration had issued thousands of title deeds to deceive Coast residents and in order to avoid addressing the fundamental land issues in the region, citing failure to implement the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) Report.

Raila and Governors Amason Kingi (Kilifi) and Hassan Ali Joho (Mombasa) toured Mombasa and Kilifi where they also distributed relief food in famine stricken areas.

They claimed Deputy President William Ruto is parading tainted leaders from Coast to advance Jubilee’s agenda.

Raila flew to Coast to defend his besieged ally, Kingi, who has been under pressure following the loss of Sh51 million from the county coffers.

Joho, a key ally of the former Prime Minister, has also been under a sustained onslaught by Jubilee leaders led by Ruto.

The CORD leader told journalists in Mombasa before leaving for Kaloleni in Kilifi that Kingi should not be vilified because he alerted Central Bank of Kenya when the money was lost through manipulation of the Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (Ifmis) and suspended officers whose passwords were allegedly stolen to enable the theft.

Kingi announced in Kilifi that he would sue the five firms in Nairobi, which received the money, adding that the investigation process was slow.

Speaking in Kaloleni, Raila pledged to implement the TJRC report if elected in the 2017 General Election.

“They (Jubilee leaders) say that 600,000 titles have been issued here at the Coast. The problem of the Mijikenda community was not titles of their land but the recovery of the chunks of their land that was grabbed during Jomo Kenyatta’s regime,” said Raila.

 He claimed that land problems at the Coast require a comprehensive solution that addresses the origins of historical injustices, adding that tours by Jubilee leaders in Coast will not sway local residents to abandon the Opposition.

“Jubilee cannot win votes by simply issuing title deeds for land that the residents already occupy. It has failed to address historical injustices on land outlined in the TJRC report,” Raila said.

He was reacting to the deputy president’s declaration that the Coast region was almost in the hands of Jubilee ahead of next year’s polls.

Raila defended Kingi by describing him as a whistleblower in the Sh51 million scandal and denied claims that he (Raila) was silent on graft in CORD counties.

And Raila asked President Kenyatta to suspend Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and Health Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri over the alleged Sh5.2 billion Afya House scandal, to pave way for proper investigation.

He claimed Jubilee was using internal auditor Bernard Mucheru as a punching bag in the scandal while shielding its cronies.