Kanu officials ask leaders, public to embrace political tolerance

Mt Kenya Kenya African National Union (Kanu) officials have urged politicians and the general public to embrace tolerance amid the high octane political temperatures in the country ahead of the 2022 General Elections.

Through the regional chairman Njunge Mukirae, they accused Deputy President William Ruto and politicians allied to him if putting the country in an election mood at the expense of development.

Mukirae who is in charge of all the region’s 10 counties said that unless urgent measures are taken to tame politicians whom he said are engaged divisive 2022 campaigns and using goons to disrupt their rival’s gatherings, the country risks plunging into civil strife.

The party hit out at the DP for criss crossing the region  indirectly opposing the BBI saying that the same in not only showing disrespect to the head of state but also displaying defiance and show of might.

‘We in Kanu are fully behind Presidential Uhuru’s call on leaders to shelve politics and engage in development and service delivery to Wanjiku and not the persistent politicking the DP and his brigade are busy doing”, he told PD yesterday.

He called upon people from the region to support the Building Bridges Initiative proposals reiterating that the area will be the overall beneficiary of the constitutional amendments.

The chairman pleaded with locals not to fall prey to the Anti-BBI antics being peddled by a section of politicians allied to Ruto and instead comprehensively read the document in order to make informed decisions during the forth coming plebiscite.

‘Ignore and avoid the wheelbarrow agenda like plague because it has nothing to do with uplifting your living standards. BBI will ensure that money will  trickle down to the people and those opposed to it are enemies of devolution’, he said.

The party accused the DP of antagonizing his boss due to what the party chairman called greed for power.

He at the same time challenged Jubilee legislators who recently wrote letters instructing the clerks of the National Assembly and Senate to re-channel their monthly subscriptions from the party the United Democratic Alliance to resign and seek fresh mandate through the party.

‘They declared that they will be voting as UDA in both houses and prioritize hustler’s legislations and policies which means that they have ‘ceased’ being members of Jubilee and hence they should tender their resignation altogether and seek fresh mandate from Wanjiku’, said he.

He further said that the party is fully in support of the enactment of a law to criminalize the hustler versus dynasty narrative.

Mukirae noted that the narrative is very dangerous and that unless dropped can lead the country to a probable infamous Rwandan Hutu/Tutsi friction which saw hundreds of thousands of innocent Rwandese.

‘Keeping in mind that 70 precent of our youths are unemployed and from humble backgrounds, an unscrupulous leader can hoodwink them to believe that their woes are caused by the rich which can be catastrophic’, he said.

The Parliamentary Administration and Security committee which is chaired by Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange intends to have a law enacted to criminalize the debate.

He reiterated that the party was vouching for a joint ticket with ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi saying that such a ticket would be formidable.

Mukirae challenged both the DP and ODM leader Rails Odinga to throw their weight behind the Mudavadi/Gideon Moi ticket saying that if the duo happens not to contest, the country can enjoy permanent peace.