ICC suspect Sang endorses Raila

By PMPS  ( email the author)

Posted  Tuesday, February 26  2013 at  11:36

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International Criminal Court suspect and former radio journalist Joshua arap Sang has endorsed Cord's presidential candidate Raila Odinga ahead of the general elections next Monday.

Mr Sang, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's office, dismissed the Jubilee coalition between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto as incapable of bringing peace between the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin who have fought during elections since 1992.

The endorsement marks a breakaway between Mr Sang and his fellow suspects at the International Criminal Court Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto. The three face various counts of crimes against humanity committed at the height of the 2007 - 2008 post-election violence.

In a recorded message to air on radio, Mr Sang says that it is only a president who is not a Kalenjin or a Kikuyu who can bring peace between the two communities.

Mr Sang says he recorded the message because of “heavy feelings in my heart.”.

In his message, Mr Sang also dismisses as lies the perception in Rift Valley that it was Mr Odinga who sent him to The Hague. He claims that senior government officials who were in office before the formation of the coalition had coached witnesses to testify against him and Mr Ruto in the case at the ICC.

“We are away in a foreign land with my brother because of allegations made against us. The truth must be told. In my opinion, the people who masterminded and planned to have me and my brother taken to The Hague did not include Raila Odinga,” Mr Sang says in the recorded message.

Mr Sang appeals to the Kalenjin community not to trust the power sharing deal in the Jubilee coalition, saying such agreements have twice been disowned after elections.

He cites the MOU signed between Mr Odinga and Mr Kibaki in 2002 and the 2007 power sharing deal that brought the Grand Coalition Government into force as instances of broken promises that should make residents of the Rift Valley wary of the deal between Mr Ruto and Mr Uhuru.

“Today, some of our people want us to enter into an MOU again through Jubilee. They never respected the MOU signed in 2002 and the power sharing deal agreed on in 2007. Why should we expect that the one our community has signed in Jubilee will be respected,” Mr Sang says in a recorded message set to air on radio.

According to Mr Sang, the doubts whether the pact between Mr Ruto and Mr Uhuru will fare any better.

He says that although President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga were supposed to share power on a 50-50 basis, it never really happened and only one side of the coalition ran the country.