Former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, has finally spoken out on recent claims that some leaders in the East African Community were plotting an attempt on his life.
Speaking during an interview in the US, Raila condemned the security agencies for treating the claims trivially and urged them to take the allegations seriously. He also said he had not spoken with his brother at length regarding the claims but had advised him to report to the police.
Raila's elder brother, Dr Oburu Oginga had presented himself to the CID headquarters to record a statement on the claims last week. However, the officers declined to take his statement and redirected him to report to Bondo, Siaya County. State House is also on record for having refuted the allegations claiming they were unfounded.
“I do not know the reason someone will want to kill me but the reason is best known to people who are planning it,” Raila remarked.
He wondered why, even after going to the CID, Dr Oginga was turned away and referred to the police in Bondo and regretted that a citizen of the standing of an MP could be turned away by police.
“May be they know the reason why,” said Raila who has been in the US for over two months on a study programme and is expected to return on May 31.
“All of us will die one day. Like Shakespeare in Julius Ceasar said, death is a necessary evil. It will come when it will come and only cowards die many times before their death,” he said adding that he had done what was right for the country and wished to see a united Kenya.
On regional integration, Mr Odinga said that he enjoyed a cordial relationship with Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame and that he believed in the dream of an EAC federation which was infact started by his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and the Tanzanian founding president Julius Nyerere.
He also supported the standard gauge railway project which was the brainchild of the Grand Coalition government when he was Prime Minister but asked President Kenyatta not to abandon the Lamu project saying it would open up the region for development.
On Anglo Leasing, he regretted that it was unfortunate the scandal occurred when the Narc government had put in place mechanisms to fight corruption. He said the scandal occurred in the Kibaki administration but had started under the Nyayo era.
He also noted that not all Anglo Leasing - related projects were fictitious and gave the example of the navy ship and Project Nexus, a border surveillance system based in Karen.
On Mr Kenyatta’s recent directive empowering County Commissioners, he asserted that the officers had no role and that the government should allow counties to manage their own affairs.
The National Government Coordination Act violates the Constitution, he said adding that the provincial administration was meant to be restructured and not renamed.
“The national government should co-operate with county governments which are the representative of people on the ground,” he affirmed.
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