Kirera Mwiti and Bernard Gitau @PeopleDailyKe
Victims of the 2007/08 post-election violence have raised the red flag over the rising political temperatures in the country. They said the war of words among politicians from across the political divide risk triggering a repeat of the poll chaos that led to loss of lives, displacement and destruction of property.
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including victims of the infamous Kiambaa church attack, took issue with politicians sowing seeds of discord to gain political mileage ahead of 2017 General Election. They urged leaders to tone down their hate talk and blame game, a situation they said reminds them of the path Kenya took before the disputed 2007 elections.
The IDPs particularly faulted Cord’s call for mass action in its campaign to remove IEBC commissioners from office, terming the Opposition’s bid “a recipe for anarchy in a country yet to fully heal from the PEV”.
Under the banner Peace Ambassador Network, the victims castigated Cord leadership’s streets protests over the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s leadership. Cord leaders have in the recent past sustained call for reconstitution of the poll agency, saying they do not have faith in the serving commissioners to deliver a fair election.
But IDPs in Naivasha, through their spokesperson Esther Njeri Namulanda, said the country is polarised like it was before the 2007/08 poll chaos. Addressing journalists in Naivasha Town on Saturday, Njeri called on political players to cool down temperatures and to stop inciting Kenyans.
“The current situation reminds us of the path we walked through prior to the 2007 elections where politicians would utter divisive words and incite ethnic groups against each other,” she said, adding: “We are calling upon the Cord leadership to exercise sobriety and seek constitutional mechanisms in solving the IEBC issue.”
Mary Wandia, a PEV victim who sustained injuries in Kiambaa attack, said Kenya does not need leaders who Meanwhile, IDPs officials have urged the victims to be wary of fraudsters registering IDPs for compensation from the government.
Saying there is no new profiling of victims, IDPs Network chair Patrick Githinji said data of all IDPs are with the government and warned of groups charging from IDPs between Sh10,000 and Sh15,000 for purported registration. w
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