State says Raila full of hatred, perpetually mourning

By JOSEPH MURAYA | July 25, 2013

the government spokesman Muthui Kariuki condemned an incident in Kisii where leaders aligned to the Jubilee coalition were heckled/FILE

NAIROBI Kenya, Jul 25 – The government has urged former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to stop making alarming political statements and asked him to move on from an elections mood.

Addressing the press on Thursday, the government spokesman Muthui Kariuki condemned an incident in Kisii where leaders aligned to the Jubilee coalition were heckled.

“The deplorable event that occurred in Kisii during the funeral service for the 15 victims of the school bus accident cannot be allowed to pass without condemnation,” he stated.

He observed that, “It is extremely disturbing that Kenyans were treated to a drama that was not only unfortunate but also hideous to the extreme in terms of our African culture.”

He said those who heckled the leaders were hired goons by the Coalition of Reforms and Democracy leader saying Odinga’s style of politics was not good for the country.

“It is disappointing that none than a politician of Raila Odinga’s stature would turn up at a solemn funeral ceremony and convert it into a political rally in total disregard of the feeling of the bereaved. This was not only morally repugnant but also callous in the extreme,” he lamented.

Kariuki also accused Odinga of galvanizing political temperatures barely a month after the general elections saying it was not good for the country’s development.

“For the retired prime minister to stand in the midst of a mourning crowd and start talking of how elections were stolen calls for condemnation in the strongest terms possible,” he stated.

He said what happened was disrespectful to the dead and blasphemous.

“How can people start calling a person ‘baba’ (father). There is no way Raila and his sidekicks can claim ignorance of the goings on during that funeral service,” the government spokesman noted.

He urged him to cultivate a culture of tolerance and let the government concentrate on its development agenda.

“His style of politics which unfortunately has everything to do with hatred, chest thumping, self-glorification and perpetual mourning is to say the least toxic.”

He urged Odinga to join the government in building the country and stop mourning that the government is not giving him recognition, “yet he has refused to return six government vehicles.”

Kariuki said the government was committed to continue delivering services to all Kenyans despite their political affiliation.