Cord puts Jubilee on the spot over crime

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) has criticised the Jubilee government over what it terms as a failure to secure the lives and property of citizens.

In particular, it singled out the “Nyumba Kumi” initiative, which was created by the government in the wake of the September 21 terrorist attack as a way to curb increasing crime in the country.

Cord leader Raila Odinga said the opposition suspects a sinister motive behind the initiative because the public was not consulted when the initiative was launched.

“It is a very major policy decision that requires national consultation,” Mr Odinga said. “You don’t just wake up one morning and say, “in response to what happened, we will start Nyumba Kumi”.

He also said that Mr Joseph Kaguthi, a former provincial commissioner, was appointed to head the initiative “without clear terms”.

Under the programme, all citizens are required to know at least 10 of their neighbours so as to prevent criminal activities within neighbourhoods.

REQUIRED TO APPROVE

However, Cord on Tuesday said the initiative was unconstitutional and “Kenya cannot be a police state any more outside constitutional arrangement set out in (the) basic law of (the) land.”

Mr Odinga said Members of Parliament should have been involved in debating and approving the programme because public funds will be used in its implementation. Parliament is by law required to approve all government spending.

“Public funds must be approved by Parliament. Let Parliament debate this issue and agree (on) the amount to be spent on it,” the former Prime Minister said.

Addressing the same press conference after the coalition’s National Executive Council meeting, nominated Senator Agnes Zani also criticised the government over the recruitment of security officers.

While reading a statement on behalf of the party, Dr  Zani said the recruitment had failed to reflect the regional and ethnic diversity of the country particularly in “Cord areas”.

The coalition also gave President Kenyatta a 14-day ultimatum to form a commission of inquiry into the Westgate attack, failure to which they will take action to ensure the truth surrounding the attack and its aftermath is revealed.

“This country deserves a proper inquiry on that incident,” Mr Odinga said.

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY

Just days after the Westgate attack on September 21, President Kenyatta had said that a commission of inquiry would be formed to investigate the attack.

Last week, the President’s spokesman, Mr Manoah Esipisu, said the government was still waiting for results from forensic investigations before the commission can be set up.

Besides security, Cord also criticised Parliament’s attempts to pass laws that limit the amount of money that non-governmental organisations can receive from foreign donors. The coalition said its members would not support such legislation in Parliament.

The leaders also warned on the risk of losing out on the gains so far made from the East African Community.

The leader of the Wiper Democratic Party, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, blamed lack of political goodwill among some heads of state in the region for the tensions that have rocked the EAC in recent weeks. He said these could lead to the collapse of the regional bloc like happened in 1977.

However, the EAC secretariat last week said the crisis had not reached a level that would require mediation.

The secretariat made the announcement after President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzanian told parliament earlier this month that his country was not being invited to meetings where crucial decisions affecting the bloc were being made.

Two weeks ago, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda signed agreements on infrastructure and trade that excluded Tanzania.

“The reality is that there is some political bad faith,” Mr Musyoka said of the developments in the region.

Bungoma senatorial aspirant Moses Wetang’ula, who was the coalition’s minority leader in the Senate before losing his seat in a petition, said that Cord would only have one candidate in each of the forthcoming by-elections. Other parties in the coalition will be expected to support its joint candidates, he said.

The Wiper party, a member of the coalition, had indicated that it would field candidates in some of the by-elections.

However, the fate of the pending mini-polls hangs in the balance after the National Treasury told the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission last week to trim its budget, a move that led the IEBC to advice that all pending by-elections be put on hold until the impasse with the financial issue is resolved.