The National Alliance (TNA) has scoffed at what it terms plans by foreigners to influence Kenya’s choice of president in the March 4 General Election.
Although supporting President Obama message that the US would respect the decision made by the Kenyan people without undue influence, the party dismissed a separate statement by US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, warning that "choices have consequences".
In a statement, TNA secretary general Onyango Oloo said Mr Carson’s statementwas intended to warn Kenyans against voting for Jubilee presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto, who face crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto together with two other Kenyans, former head of civil service Francis Muthaura and former Radio presenter Joshua arap Sang face trial at the ICC for bearing the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed during the post-election violence of 2007/08 that led to the death of 1,133 Kenyans and the displacement of 650,000 others.
“He (Mr Carson) has issued a statement that contradicts President Obama's statement, both in letter and spirit.
"The emphatic message from that statement was that “choices have consequences” and the clear intent of the statement was to influence the choice of candidate that Kenyans will make in the elections. Specifically, it was meant to influence Kenyans against voting for those Kenyans with cases before the ICC,” said Mr Oloo.
Mr Carson said that his government was not endorsing any candidate in the close election, that may produce no clear winner in the first round between Jubilee and the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, according to opinion polls.
Mr Oloo alleged Mr Carson’s statement was made at the behest of another candidate in the election arguing that the envoy had met with Kenya's Ambassador to the US Elkanah Odembo on February 5 in his office, a meeting that raised eyebrows.
"The meeting was held in the most unconventional way as there was no government or representative from the state department present,” said Mr Oloo, adding that the Kenyan envoy was close to one of Mr Kenyatta’s rivals in next month’s election.
The TNA boss said all candidates running for office had been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) through a rigorous process.
The ICC had also taken no issue with those candidates running for office, adding that the candidates with pending cases before the ICC are cooperating with the court and were running for office legitimately.
“Any effort to bias the electorate is not only undemocratic, it is a denial of the right of the Kenyan people to make the decision that is their right at the ballot,” stated the TNA boss.
Mr Oloo said Kenya was a strong, sovereign country and that the will of the people should be respected rather than threatened saying Kenyans should be allowed to participate in the democratic process of electing their leaders without undue influence.
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