Cord demands crisis talks as 'Baba' makes big return

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and fellow opposition chiefs have given President Uhuru Kenyatta a 37-day ultimatum to call a national dialogue conference to address the plight of Kenyans, failure to which CORD would call the conference on July 7, 2014. After extensive consultations with CORD co-principals, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Leader of Minority in the Senate, Moses Wetang’ula, Raila reported they had arrived at the first steps “towards bringing healing and justice to our land”. The trio said Kenya must hold a national dialogue bringing together all the major political coalitions represented in Parliament with the participation of representatives of civil society, religious denominations and workers organisations. “While I was away, I heard all your complaints from the messages you sent me, through phone calls and twitter. But today I have come back with a cure for your ailments,” Raila told thousands of supporters who turned up at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, to welcome him back after a three-month absence in the USA. Demand for dialogue “We are asking my brother Raila to call for a national dialogue with Uhuru and members of his Jubilee team on Saba-Saba Day (July 7th, 2014). If they fail to participate in the same, Kenyans will demand that they leave office and go home,” said former Vice President, Kalonzo Musyoka. See also: Wiper denies event will endorse Raila to vie for president in 2017 Rehashing the now common refrain on twitter, “#BabaWhileYouWereAway”, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy leader observed that in the three months he had been away, Kenyans daily communicated their frustrations to him via email, SMS, phone calls and twitter. “A baby was shot in Mombasa and his mother killed, part of the growing victims of insecurity that has claimed young and old, babies and mothers. The cost of living soared. While we were away, billions of Kenya shillings were digitally transferred to agents of impunity before Kenyans could wink,” he charged. Arbitrary arrests The former PM also observed that tourists left Kenya in droves and hundreds of Kenyans lost jobs, courtesy of growing insecurity and hopelessness. He also singled out what he termed arbitrary arrests of members of the Muslim community. “Instead of undertaking the hard and disciplined fight against terrorists, our government has singled out an entire community to scapegoat and persecute. This must stop immediately,” he said.