NAIROBI, Kenya
Kenya’s opposition chief, Raila Odinga (pictured) has backed President
Uhuru Kenyatta’s appeal to his deputy William Ruto to resign if he is not
satisfied with the current government.
The former Prime Minister and leader of ODM party said it would
be the honourable thing for any politician to do, extending the call to Jubilee
MPs who have shifted allegiance to UDA.
“If you see things are not okay and you are a principled person,
just say things are not okay and resign,” Raila said, citing the lot for
hypocrisy.
“These MPs saying, they are in UDA and are still earning salary
through Jubilee should also resign, go back to the people and defend seat with
a new party.”
“That is called political principle, otherwise this is
hypocrisy,” Raila said, adding that it was not the first time Kenya was having
a Vice President.
“My father was the first VP. He did not wait to be sacked. When
he saw that things had changed and was not being given assignments, he wrote a
letter.”
Raila quoted his father’s letter which said, “I cannot justify
earning public salary without responsibility. The future generation will look
unkindly at me and because of this, I hereby tender resignation.”
He revisited the case where he stepped down as Langata MP to
disassociate with the then sponsoring party’s links to the Goldenberg scandal.
“When I was Langata MP under Ford Kenya, we saw the problem of
Goldenberg… I said I couldn’t continue being MP under Ford Kenya and resigned.”
“I said I would return with another party …and contested my seat
on an NDP ticket and I was re-elected.”
For the first time on Monday, Uhuru bluntly asked Ruto to resign
and concentrate on his 2022 election campaigns, instead of fighting the
government from within.
“The honourable thing is that if you are not happy… step aside
and allow those who want to move on to do so,” Uhuru told Ruto, saying there is
no way the DP can have his cake and eat it. Uhuru (L) bluntly asked Ruto (R) to resign and concentrate on his 2022 election campaigns, instead of fighting the government from within.
"You can’t on one hand say I am not going and at the same
time you don’t agree [with the government] …You must decide and be principled
in this respect so that you don’t confuse people that on one hand you want to
praise the government and yet on the other side of your mouth you’re talking
another language.”
However, in what clearly marks the last stages of an
acrimonious divorce, Ruto on Tuesday vowed he will not quit the government
he jointly formed with the President.
Addressing two separate functions in Nairobi and Taita Taveta,
Ruto said it is foolhardy for anyone to think that he can resign when he played
a key role in winning the polls in both 2013 and 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment