Kenya: Uhuru,Ruto Want Raila Arrested

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Isaac Ongiri

17 February 2011
Nairobi — DEPUTY Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and suspended Higher Education minister William Ruto want Prime Minister Raila Odinga arrested for incitement.
Uhuru and Ruto argue Raila was inciting and offensive last Monday when he said violence could break out in the next general election if the post-election violence suspects are not tried at The Hague.
Raila's remarks were made during the memorial of the 1984 Wagalla Massacre in Wajir.

Yesterday Uhuru and Ruto were escorted to the press conference by the MPs at Parliament after they hosted a lunch for over 40 lawmakers at the Panafric Hotel to strategise on how to deal with the PM.
Uhuru and Ruto left the room before the statement was read stating the outcome of their joint deliberations with the MPs.
The statement demands that Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere should summon and question the PM over the remarks.
Ruto and Uhuru are among six suspects named by the ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.
The others are Head of the Civil Service Francis Muthaura, former Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey, former Police Commissioner Hussein Ali and Kass FM radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.

The MPs said the PM should be compelled to produce evidence to substantiate his remarks.
"We condemn Prime Minister Raila Odinga's statements in Wajir on Monday February 14, 2011 over claims that if those named by the ICC Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo are not tried at The Hague, violence will erupt in 2012," declared the unsigned statement read out by East African Community assistant minister Peter Munya.
The MPs castigated Ocampo saying he was partisan in the two Kenya cases and wondered why the PM would want to associate with the ICC.

Raila said at the Wajir event, "They are going to Libya to meet President Gaddafi and Malawi to meet President Mutharika for the deferment of the ICC case. We do not support that. Those involved in planning and execution of the post election violence should be tried at The Hague to avoid a recurrence of the same." The MPs claimed the PM was planning to destabilise Kenya between now and 2012 and should be investigated.
"But we will tell him this for free. His plans to destabilise the country between now and 2012 and to acquire power through the backdoor will fail," the MPs' statement said.
The leaders said that the PM should also be ready to face the ICC.
"If he thinks The Hague is the best option, then he and his co-planners of the 2007 mayhem must face the court. He must stop pretending that he can profit from a process and a prosecutor who are brazenly partisan," added the statement.

The MPs asked the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to investigate Raila claiming he had "caused panic in the country." "We recently saw MPs Joshua Kuttuny, Wilfred Machage and Fred Kapondi arrested over speeches like that. It is high time we had action taken against the PM," said assistant minister Aden Dualle.
North Norr MP Chachu Ganya said the PM was not above the law and wondered why the police had not taken action.
"His remarks were unfortunate. The police should go ahead and deal with him because such unbecoming conduct cannot be tolerated," said Ganya.
Ol Kalou MP Erastus Mureithi said Raila could have jeopardised the ongoing reconciliation in Kenya.
"For a man of his stature to have come up with such unfortunate remarks, the least we can expect is to have the police swinging into action against him," Mureithi said.
Mureithi called on the NCIC to quickly investigate Raila's remarks.

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Later Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojode said the remarks by the MPs were "unfortunate and uncalled for".
"I am shocked that leaders are out to polarise this country. Calls for the arrest of a leader of the PM's calibre is serious and can have far-reaching and regrettable effects," Ojode said.
Uriri MP Cyprian Omolo dismissed those calling for the PM's arrest as "hypocrites" who did not have the future of Kenya at heart.
"These people were themselves running around convincing people to support the ICC when the PM and the President were literally begging them to vote for a local process. To use the PM's name for purposes of fetching undue sympathy is only political," Omolo said.