Musalia blasts ‘malicious’ candidates

Posted by CATHERINE KARONGO on November 6, 2011

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Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 6 – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government Musalia Mudavadi has urged Kenyans to ignore baseless allegations fronted by some presidential aspirants aimed at ruining chances for their opponents as the country gears up for next years general election.

The DPM accused some politicians of perfecting the act of using unfounded accusations against their competitors to gain political mileage without due regard for fair competition.

“How can you lead a country with a track record of malice and falsehoods against other leaders?” he questioned.

“Such character can only produce paranoid and revengeful leadership,” he said.

Mudavadi asked Kenyans to elect their leaders based on integrity, policies and agenda and learn to differentiate facts and fiction peddled by some politicians.

The DPM also appealed to the media to stick to the spirit of fair play in the process of reporting political contests so that Kenyans can make right decisions of electing a leadership of integrity.

“The media should help Kenyans make informed choices to elect their leaders based on facts, on track records, character and leadership qualities one can offer,” he said.

Speaking after a fund raiser ceremony at Friends Church Centre in Nairobi where Sh1.9million was raised, Mudavadi reaffirmed that he would contest for presidency on an Orange Democratic Party ticket after going through laid down nominations procedures.

“Nothing can stop me from contesting for nomination for the presidency in ODM party once that time comes as I have already declared. I will go through ODM nominations process to compete against other candidates and I expect them to support me and vice versa to nurture fair competition within our party,” he said.

He said his presidential ambition could only be realised by belonging to a strong political party like ODM that can mount effective campaign to meet the high threshold set by the Constitution for one to become president after 2012 elections.

Mudavadi said he stood for politics of integrity and principal adding that negative campaigns were a precursor to instability and ethnic conflict witnessed in the post 2007 elections.

“My politics are about a country that is not ethnically polarised, a country where every community feels comfortable with the leadership, where everyone feels they belong,” he said referring to his candidature.
He urged Kenyans not to gamble with their vote.

“We should not engage in mock trials every election circle. Only those with tested and proven character should be considered. It does not add value to the country to insist on contesting if your candidature is likely to antagonise communities and polarise the country,” he said.