Owalo a "decoy," CID target is Cord leaders

Cord's Johnstone Muthama and Anyang' Nyong'o and other coalition leaders during a news conference at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi July 18, 2013. Cord accused the CID of targeting its leaders after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s aide was summoned over an alleged plot to destabilise the government. EMMA NZIOKA  

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The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy has accused the CID of targeting its leaders after former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s aide was summoned over an alleged plot to destabilise the government.

Eliud Owalo who headed Mr Odinga’s presidential campaign in the run up to the March 4 polls was summoned by the CID on Tuesday for questioning.

Mr Owalo has been summoned again to appear before the CID on Monday through a letter from a Mr John Kariuki on behalf of the director of criminal investigations Ndegwa Muhoro.

On Thursday, Cord leaders Anyang Nyong’o, Johnstone Muthama, James Orengo, Ugunja MP James Wandayi and Migori women representative Dennitah Ghati among others dismissed the allegations accusing the Jubilee administration of taking Kenyans back to dark days of oppression.

“The Jubilee government is already destabilised. No one needs to destabilise it,” Prof Nyong’o told journalists at Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi.

Decoy

In a statement, the Cord leaders said Mr Owalo was a decoy and that his pursuit is diversionary as “the real target are his bosses; the coalition principals Hon Raila Odinga, Hon Kalonzo Musyoka and Senator (Moses) Wetangula.”

They said the allegations against Mr Owalo “are an insult to Kenyans as the source of this so called intelligence sources of information was a blog known as The Jackal News ran by known TNA operative who clearly is carrying out errands for the Jubilee Government".

“Kenyans are not fools. We urge the Jubilee Government to mind the business of Kenyans, to respect and uphold the Constitution of Kenya and to cease and desist from using untoward tactics by ways of withholding benefits for the principals, frustrating their smooth movement in and out of the country using our airports and making wild baseless allegations yet serious accusations. The country must not be divided further,” the statement said.

Curtail individual liberties

Cord said it is concerned about the way individual liberties and freedoms were being rolled back and curtailed “not only for the lowly person but unbelievably even for principals and icons of democracy in Kenya".

“It is only two days ago the Deputy President William Ruto was quoted in the media calling for the possible arrest of the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga because of serious issues he raised concerning IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission),” the statement said.

Saying the guilty are afraid, Prof Nyong’o said barely days after Mr Odinga chastised IEBC, Mr Owalo was accused of working to wreck Jubilee.

“It is instructive that Mr Owalo is not just another aide, but is in fact the individual that ran the Prime Minister's Campaign Secretariat. As such he would be privy to details of anomalies and short comings and malfunctions that led to a disputed election which was argued in the Supreme Court,” Prof Nyong’o said.

The leaders said Mr Owalo was also being targeted because of an article he wrote on a local daily titled: Why the electoral commission must be disbanded.”

Cord accused the CID are making unsubstantiated, comical, cheap yet treasonable charges against Mr Owalo.

Cord said the allegations against Mr Owalo include: That Mr Owalo is conducting secret meetings and organising youth around the country, in major towns and slums for purposes of fomenting an uprising or revolt against the Jubilee Government; That Mr Owalo is organising diplomats, foreign embassies, clergy and the civil society to rise up and oppose the Jubilee Government by causing disaffection; That all this Mr Owalo is doing to mimic an Egyptian style revolution or uprising also part of what was called the Arab spring; That Mr Owalo has received millions of shillings from foreign embassies through a Nairobi Law firm in the guise of proceeds of legal transaction but which will be used to further the above objectives.