My ‘madoadoa’ remark is different from Linturi’s – Raila clarifies as he apologises

Orange Democratic Movement Party Leader Raila Odinga has on Friday March 11, 2022 set the record straight after a remark he made during an Azimio La Umoja rally in Wajir County did not augur well with certain quarters.

During the Wajir rally, the former premier mentioned the term ‘madoadoa’ which is considered inciteful and a term meant to profile certain ethnic groups.

While addressing a rally in Kisumu, the presidential hopeful maintained that his remarks were taken out of context. Raila stated that unlike Meru senator Mithika Linturi, who was recently arrested for mentioning the controversial term during a rally in Eldoret, he did not use the term to profile anyone or any ethnic group.

“When we were in Wajir, all the candidates that were present were affiliated to Azimio. They affirmed that Wajir is an Azimio zone. I congratulated them for their stance and maintained that we want no ‘madoadoa’ in Wajir. I did not mean that we don’t want any tribe to reside in Wajir, but if anyone felt discriminated by my sentiments then I am sorry,” he said.

Raila, who has since been summoned by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission over his remarks in Wajir, further stated that in Linturi’s case, the lawmaker outrightly profiled Kesses MP Mishra Swarup. He claims that the Ruto-allied lawmaker asked the Kesses MP to return to Punjab, India.

“The madoadoa remark I made in Wajir cannot be likened to the one that was made in Eldoret, where a leader was asked to return to Punjab because he is of Indian descent. In my case, I used the term to ask my supporters to ring-fence Wajir county from other political parties,” Raila added.