ROUND UP OF SWEARING-IN DEVELOPMENTS – “WE WILL SOON KNOW WHETHER WE WILL BE ONE COUNTRY OR TWO”
“In the next few days, we will know whether we will be one country or two. But even if we are going to say to have two republics there must be a dialoguE. We must do everything peacefully.” Mr Kalonzo Musyoka (to thunderous cheers, according to Standard and others) at the massive NASA Homa Bay People’s Assembly rally.
Amid the mounting excitement among the majority of Kenyans and concern by many others about Tuesday’s NASA swearing in, Mr Kalonzo’s was among the most significant statements heard this weekend. Others:
Chief Justice David Maraga said he had no power to stop any judge from swearing in the Nasa leaders, according to the Nation. “It is not within my mandate to dictate what magistrates or judges do. As the Chief Justice, I have no authority to direct any judge or even a magistrate on what to do. The independence of judiciary is so sacrosanct that the CJ is not given power to direct the officers.”
Dr Tom Wolf, a lead researcher at Ipsos, Kenya’s leading polling firm: A survey undertaken after the September Supreme Court verdict showed that most Kenyans felt the Court had annulled the election because Mr Odinga had won it, not on account of electoral technicalities. P.S. I must have missed news of this finding when it was first released.
Mr Raila Odinga at the Homa Bay event on threats to deny him a travel visa if he is sworn in: “I don’t have to travel out of Kenya. I am staying right here to ensure democracy and fair elections are firmly entrenched in our system.”
NASA Principal Musalia Mudavadi said in Homa Bay that they can no longer refuse to respond to the intense swearing in pressures from the majority of Kenyans. Let Raila and Kalonzo be sworn in on Tuesday, he said
Jubilee: After NASA released on Friday its server-based tally showing Raila had won the election, Jubilee tweeted that “the August election results were irrelevant.” This is a dramatic departure from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s insistence even after the September Supreme Court ruling that the Court had not said he had not won that election.
Salim Lone, Adviser,
Nasa flag bearer Raila Odinga
