In a statement dated Friday, August 6, NRM Secretary General, Todwong Richard, cautioned the MP and other ODM allies alleging that they insulted and disrespected Museveni, NRM and Uganda’s sovereign government and its people.
These developments are aligned with Deputy President William Ruto’s aborted trip to Uganda. Junet and ODM Chairman John Mbadi urged Museveni to respect Kenya and desist from interfering with the country’s politics.
NRM stated that it believed that the proclamation did not represent the official position of ODM against the well-established historical ties between the National Resistance Movement (NRM ) Party and the people of Kenya. This was a cagey statement by NRM questioning ODM leader Raila Odinga’s knowledge of Junet’s statement.
“Honourable Junet, please crosscheck your records so that next time you are better informed as a Legislator. Your unfortunate utterances were indeed an indication of a possible deep-rooted internal political misunderstandings within your country,” read the NRM statement to Junet.
“You and others exposed your inadequate knowledge and understanding of NRM,” Todwong castigated.
His statement captured the simmering tension between Kenya and Uganda, insisting that Junet, having been an MP for nearly a decade, ought to understand a neighbouring country’s social, political, and economic history to warrant him articulate issues with empirical evidence.
Todwong asked Junet to look back at his ancestral land Somali, take a clue from the challenges and count himself lucky for being the first Kenyan Somali to attain a democratic seat in the National Assembly of a neighbouring country (Kenya).
The party defended Museveni, stating that he realised that the post-colonial administrative structures or systems they inherited could not solve Uganda’s major social, economic, and political questions. He was said to have rebuilt and restructured the country.
“Indeed, just like Kenya and the many other African countries, Uganda was struggling to establish a unifying system that could heal the country of the politics of class difference, tribalism, religious differences and above all elitist approach to issues.”
“Unfortunately, unlike Kenya, the democratic equilibrium we now have in Uganda was through patriotic sacrifices of the gallant sons and daughters of Uganda. Their unwavering sacrifices helped secure the much-needed peace by January 1986 (nine years after you were born), possibly you were too young to appreciate this,” Todwong reprimanded Junet.
NRM was adamant that it respects the independence and sovereignty of Kenya as a country and appreciates the continuous cooperation between Museveni and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“We believe you could be having internal political issues which we cannot be invited to be part of. No amount of diversionary statements from individuals can make us think otherwise. We are one people of the East African Community,” the party assured.”
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
