PM welcomes GEMA unity

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 27 - Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Sunday he was not worried about the newfound GEMA unity and instead welcomed it as a major boost to the YES team spearheading the proposed constitution.

He termed reports that the group led by one of his deputies and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta was out to overshadow his campaign strategy were “unfounded and far fetched”.

“Let it be known that the YES team does not have a leader, it has leaders, so we are not worried and we are focused on the draft constitution,” he said.

He said the move by the Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association (GEMA) was a step in the right direction.

“As far as other people organize themselves to campaign more effectively for the YES vote, it is complimentary to what we are all trying to do. Let us not try to bring in the 2012 issue for the YES vote,” Mr Odinga told reporters after attending a church service at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi.

Some factions allied to the YES team have openly been expressing their frustrations claiming that they had been locked out of the campaign management by President Mwai Kibaki, the Prime Minister and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

This led to Friday’s formation of a unity force by Central Kenya leaders led by Mr Kenyatta ahead of the national referendum on August 4.

“Kenya is considerably a big country, and it is to the advantage of us all when we have different groups forging a unity of purpose in the YES team,” the Prime Minister said.

In his brief remarks at the All Saints Cathedral, the PM urged the congregation to disregard rumours being peddled by the NO team and vote for the proposed constitution.

“We want to carry out a professional campaign based on facts, we don’t just want to engage in cheap propaganda like what they are saying that this draft constitution legalizes gay marriages, you ask yourself which chapter and verse of the constitution talks about gay marriages,” he asked.