We ONLY have a few days to go. Tell somebody to go tell somebody that time is running out. We can’t afford to wait any longer. Your Vote is your weapon that will catapult Raila Amolo Odinga into State House in August 9.
Therefore, if you LOVE Baba then RISE UP, get out and REGISTER AS A VOTER.
ODM Leader Raila Odinga who is on a five day tour of the Coast region last night hosted a gala dinner for the party aspirants aspiring to vie for different seats, teachers representatives, religious leaders and the business community at a Malindi hotel where he pledged to create a conducive environment to spur economic growth in every sector of the economy.
Mr. Odinga said he understands the pain Kenyans go through on a daily basis as a result of poor economy caused by high level corruption which he said has hampered development in most parts of the country. He said Kenya needs a focused leadership that will work round the clock to seal all the loopholes which are used to loot from public coffers leaving Kenyans to struggle in a tattered economy.“I know what businessmen go through under these circumstances, we have the solution to the problem and we shall fix it for the betterment of our country” he said.
The ODM leader said Kenyans should not be hoodwinked and lied to with sweet stories told by the very people who have looted the economy adding that it will be a disaster if such people landed in leadership positions. “We have to be vigilant. We have to be woke. We have to know whom we are engaging. Kenya deserves good leaders” he added.The ODM leader used the opportunity to assure aspirants for the various seats on the party ticket that the upcoming party primaries will be above board and that nobody will be shortchanged.“We shall have a credible nomination exercise. We shall ensure everyone is satisfied before the certificate is issued to the winner” he said adding that there will be no sacred cows.
He told the people of the Coast to remain steadfast in the party adding that the ideology it carries resonates so well with their needs and demands. “We are a social democracy and we believe in equity and equitable distribution of resources to every region of this nation for prosperity” he said.The dinner was attended by seventy aspirants from the various parts of Kilifi County, KNUT and KUPPET officials, businessmen and women, religious leaders from both the Muslim and Christian faiths.Political leaders present included the Governor of Nakuru Mr. Lee Kinyanjui, legislators Jeremiah Kioni (Ndaragua), Junet Mohammed (Minority Whip, NA), James Orengo (Minoriry Leader, Senate), Stewart Madzayo (Dep. Minority Leader Senate), Teddy Mwambire (Ganze), Getrude Mbeyu (Woman Rep Kilifi) and Ken Chonga (Kilifi South) and Devolution CAS Gideon Mung’aro.
Directorate of Communications- ODM
ODM leader Mr. Raila Odinga has today told the IEBC chairman Mr. Wafula Chebukati to stop beating around the bush and mention names of the politicians engaging in early campaigns. He says he is yet to declare whether or not he will vie for the top seat in the next general election and that his Azimio la Umoja countrywide tours should not be mistaken for the campaign.
He says the Azimio la Umoja conventions he has been holding are only meant to listen to the views, needs, and concerns of Kenyans in the respective regions and spread the message of peace and unity among Kenyans.
Speaking at Chungwa House when he received into the party the Marsabit County Woman Representative Ms. Safia Sheikh Adan who defected from the Jubilee party, the ODM leader said it was hypocritical for the IEBC boss to continue issuing press releases and statements without hitting the nail on the head. “What we are doing in Azimio la Umoja is different from what these other people are doing,” he said adding that he has only been holding consultative meetings with people, to listen to them and try to find a solution to their problems and needs.
He said the December 9th convention in Nairobi will be used to respond to the issues raised by millions of Kenyans through their representatives and delegations to the Azimio la Umoja conventions that have been held across the country since the month of July this year. “We have not invited any international guests to this convention, we only do that during our National Delegates Convention (NDC) which will be held sometime next year”, he said.
Mr. Odinga said he was happy with the response the Azimio la Umoja program has received from Kenyans saying it is only through unity that Kenya can move to the next level.
He thanked Ms. Adan for making the bold move to join the ODM family adding that political parties should be built on ideology and not handouts. “Political parties are not just about numbers, it is about people who are committed and subscribe to the policies and ideology of the party they are joining willingly”.
Ms. Adan said she has had the passion and the urge to belong to the ODM Party for a long time and that her move was made after wide consultations with her family and supporters and that she believes is in the best interest of everyone in Marsabit county. “I will campaign vigorously for Hon. Raila and mobilize all my supporters to rally behind his candidature” she said.
ODM Secretary-General Mr. Edwin Sifuna said the party doors are open for everyone willing to join in saying “in the spirit of gather-all and scatter none, we shall welcome into the party even those who had left the movement”.
Present during the brief ceremony was the Saboti MP Mr. Caleb Amisi, the ODM Executive Director Mr. Oduor Ong’wen, and the ODM Youth League President Mr. John Ketora.
Ends…
Directorate of Communications – ODM
The National Elections Board (NEB) wishes to update all Party members and supporters on the progress of consultations with Party officials and members on the ongoing Party’s grassroots elections. So far NEB has concluded consultations in twenty eight (28) Counties, some of which have concluded their elections while in others, the exercise is ongoing. We urge the members in these Counties to continue building consensus to ensure an all-inclusive non-adversarial elective process.
The ODM Party structures are so broad as to adequately accommodate all party interest groups. We congratulate the counties that have held their consultations and invited the NEB to receive their final consensus lists. Any County that has finalized with the harmonization process should get in touch with the NEB on 0757242495 to guide on the next steps. Please do not go to the Party’s National Secretariat to submit any lists.
The Board has received complaints in a few instances where some Party members have been excluded from the process. We strongly condemn these acts and urge our members to be vigilant and reject any process that is not consultative and inclusive.
We wish to remind all that divergent views and opinions and political rivalry among members is healthy and cannot be a basis for excluding Party members from this exercise.
NEB will not recognize any list of officials that is arrived at through unilateral processes that fail to follow the Rules. We particularly wish to urge the Counties that have not had consultations with NEB to be patient and await their turn in this exercise. The NEB also wishes to caution members against following any misinformation on this exercise by the media. The 18th September 2021 deadline that has widely been quoted is only for some Counties that agreed on this date with NEB.
The deadline for each County is agreed upon during the consultative meetings. At no given time has the NEB given a deadline for all Counties to conclude the grassroots elections. As for the Counties that the NEB is yet to visit, we urge them to continue caucusing in preparation as they wait for NEB to consult and determine when to visit. In instances where there are factions, county teams are encouraged to bring each and every group on board.
Finally, then NEB wishes to urge all supporters who have not yet registered as members to quickly do so by 30th September 2021 when the period for free membership registration will end. NOTE that ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS can participate in party grassroots elections.Tuko Tayari!
Catherine Mukeya Mumma
CHAIRPERSON-NATIONAL ELECTIONS BOARD
President Uhuru Kenyatta and visiting Estonian leader Kersti Kaljulaid have said Kenya and Estonia will partner in championing for the protection of multilateralism on the global stage.
They said the system guarantees fairness and justice in the global stage, and vowed to use the two countries non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council to jointly advance multilateralism.
President Kenyatta and his guest spoke on Thursday evening at State House, Nairobi, during a cocktail party held in honour of the visiting Estonian leader.
President Kenyatta said Kenya and Estonia had agreed to work together in pursuit of common goals such as regional and global peace, climate change and the gender agenda.
“We are countries that are interested in regional and global peace, countries that are interested in seeing the multilateralism system work, countries that are interested in seeing private sector fully entrenched, creating jobs and opportunities especially for our young people,” President Kenyatta said.
He said Kenya and Estonia had succeeded in exploiting talents and skills of their citizens to build their economies through the deployment of digital technologies.
On her part, President Kaljulaid said she had been impressed by Kenya’s use of digital technologies in public service delivery, and advised the country to consider tightening its cyber security protocols so as to ensure that the systems are tamper proof.
The Estonian leader said her country will partner with Kenya in pushing for global issues that affect small countries especially climate change, cyber security and peace.
“We are actually together in the (UN) Security Council and we all know why small nations are elected to the security council. This is because we adhere to international rules and regulations,” President Kaljulaid said.
She assured that Estonia will partner with Kenya in advocating for the enactment of laws that will ensure a safer international cyber security environment.
“We have been pushing digital security issues at the security council because after all when we are doing digital transformation. Our sovereignty will one day depend on how our systems work,” President Kaljulaid said.
The Estonian said her country was determined to forge a strong technology partnership with Kenya that will see the two countries share expertise in the area.
“We have wonderful start up communities who are young and dynamic and have a saturated market, therefore we’ve turned our eyes to this continent. As leaders, what we are doing is follow our people, our businesses and that’s why the relationship between Kenya, Africa and Estonia has developed quickly,” President Kaljulaid said.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on 9th September 2021, also held a high profile meeting with a visiting President in Nairobi.
Raila has met visiting Estonian President, H.E Kersti Kaljulai to discuss a wide range of issues of common interest between Kenya and Astonia.
The meeting has seen Raila and President Kaljulaid discuss matters including ways through which Kenya may adopt the methods to hasten the country’s digital advancement.
“Had a great conversation with visiting Estonian President, H.E Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia ranks top amongst digitally advanced countries globally. We discussed ways through which we may adopt methods to hasten our advancement. We will follow up,” Raila said.
The discussed the Covid pandemic.
As we celebrate our 10th anniversary as a party, ODM’s political identity and social base has since solidified into a firmly unmistakable character. Kenyan’s are increasingly identifying themselves with ODM as the party of choice. Our historic agenda is clear for all Kenyans to appreciate. CHANGE is not only our strategic platform: it is hardwired into the partys DNA. It is the very core of our mission. It informs our vision of a new and better Kenyan society – a society for which democracy must refer to the exercise of public authority by the majority in the light of the interest and opinion of the same. In addition it animates the supreme values that define and drive our social contract with the kenyan people.
Our land is littered with epitaphs and unmarked graves of opposition parties that arrived with pomp and died without notice. Here, only the fittest survive.
Today, the fittest of them all, ODM, is here to thank all of you who have kept the faith, who have been there in good and bad times, who have shed tears at our lowest moments and also celebrated our moments of triumph.
I am grateful for the privilege to speak to you as the leader of Kenya’s single largest political party marking its decade of fighting for Kenyans.
We have a reason and a history to celebrate. We are the party of the constitution. When the forces of status quo walked out on Kenyans at the Bomas of Kenya and came up with the Kilifi Draft, we are the party that said no. We stood up for an overhaul, not a panel beating of the old constitution.
We dared them to a duel and we beat them hands down.
Within the constitution, we stood up for something higher, bigger and radical; devolution. When we said Kenya is ripe for county governments, the status quo questioned our patriotism and accused us of Balkanizing the country.
But we remembered the words of Martin Luther King Jr:
Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?
Expediency ask the question, is it politic?
Vanity asks the question, is it popular?
But, conscience ask the question, is it right?
And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.”
Because we in ODM did not retreat, today, we have county governments. They are still fighting devolution.
We are still fighting for devolution.
We assure Kenyans that ODM shall neither slumber nor sleep until devolution is fully entrenched as part and parcel of the Kenyan life.
We anchor the dreams of our founding fathers for liberty and justice and the rule of law. We carry the dreams of the progressive forces that removed section 2(a) of the constitution that made Kenya a one party state.
ODM is the buffer between freedom and a return to fully-fledged dictatorship, not just here in Kenya but in the entire eastern Africa region.
We are ready to return to the trenches for everything we hold dear; for a nation that is free, that shares justly, equitably and fairly.
We are Orange and we are proud of it.
Today, we are here to say thank you to those who have showed up without asking for money, without asking whether it is safe, for transport, for food, when the party has called on you to respond to the distress call of our nation. May you live long for our country.
As we gather here, the very forces that have caused us misery, the forces behind Eurobond and NYS scandals and the grabbing of school land are gathering in Nairobi to plot how to give us more of the same pain.
These are the forces that campaigned against the constitution, whose names bless every corruption scandal, who have presided over extra-judicial executions.
The same forces who have benefited from land injustices and tribe-based appointments are trying to hoodwink us that they are the change Kenya has been waiting for.
So as we celebrate our past, the central question that must be in our minds is, “What next must ODM do for Kenya?”
We must therefore issue a new call to action for our beloved nation. We must not live in the memory of our past victories but join hands and roll up our sleeves again and begin a new push for the final liberation of Kenya.
In ODM, we believe in the people and the power of the people. It is because of you that we have won past battles. It is because of you that we have become the largest party by geographical reach.
It is because of you that we have begun the process of reforming the IEBC.
Jubilee had said no. It is because of you that we have held the highest number of elective seats ever since we entered electoral politics. In the 2007, we became the majority party, with 99 MPs. We also beat an incumbent and won the presidential contest.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego found that we finished nearly 6 points ahead of PNU in 2007. The International Republican Institute put our lead at eight percent.
In the 2013, ODM won 16 out of the 47 governor positions, 101 seats in the National Assembly, 17 Senate and 598 MCA slots. All independent analysis has shown that together with our partners Wiper and Ford-Kenya, we won the presidential race too.
Don’t be told that incumbents cannot be beaten. We have beaten incumbents before and we shall do it again because we know you will be there.
We continue to cherish the Cord partnership and we will strengthen it. With your mandate, we will invite more leaders and parties to join us.
As we embark on the journey for the next ten years, we must mobilize and push new frontiers of good governance.
We have a landmark election coming next year. We must mobilise to win it.
Then we will deal a death blow to the old order that is regrouping and end the culture of impunity that has seen this region lose so many sons and daughters through State-sanction extra-judicial executions in the name of fighting terrorism.
Let then each of us leave this venue with a new conviction to bring new converts armed with voter’s cards on board.
Let’s tell our brothers and sisters, fathers and fathers out there that if they believe in defending the Constitution, they belong in ODM.
If they believe in equity, they belong in ODM.
If they believe in inclusivity, they belong in ODM.
If they believe in justice, they belong in ODM.
If they believe in a nation in which no one goes to bed in an empty stomach, they belong in ODM.
If they believe in a Kenya free of corruption and impunity, they belong in ODM.
If they believe that devolution is the way to go, that counties must be protected and not undermined, ODM is the place for them.
Let us tell our people to get out of Pharaoh’s palace where they are currently feasting and dash for freedom.
And let us summon the courage and tell the Pharaoh, “let our people go.”
Thank you. God Bless ODM. God bless Kenya.
STATEMENT OF GRATITUDE TO MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR PASSING THE BBI BILL.
Karl Marx once opined that “Men make their own history. But they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under given circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past.”
Our past Socio, political and Economic circumstances necessitated a need for a country wide driven dialogue and the voices of the people were captured in the BBI document.
Yesterday, Parliament heeded to the clarion call as the representatives of the people and passed the BBI bill. Thence, I would wish to convey a heartfelt gratitude to the Minority side and the Majority side led by Hon. Amos Kimunyafor their overwhelming support and purvey of unity of purpose and commitment to the course.
In my capacity as the Minority leader in the National Assembly, I would wish to thank The Minority Whip Hon. Junet Mohammed, his Deputy Hon. Eseli Simiyu and my Deputy Minority leader Hon. Robert Mbui for rallying the Minority side to deliver over 2/3rds of the votes which is no mean feat given how contentious the bill has been.
Through us as lawmakers, Kenyans not only entrust their sovereignty with us but they also dare have a dalliance with hope; and we indulge them in that hope through our legislative duty to pass laws and bills that convey a better future for this and coming generation.
Finally, I appreciate President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, my Party leader who selflessly elected to move the country from political Sodom; let us not look back, lest we perish and become a monument of infamy and derision to the world. Their guidance has been illuminating and impeccable.
Thank you and God Bless Kenya.
Signed
Hon. CPA John Mbadi, EGH, MP.
Minority Leader, National Assembly.
