Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua has told ODM’s Raila Odinga to form a coalition government with President Uhuru Kenyatta rather than being in the oppostion but behaving as if he is part of the government.
“ODM is having their cake and eating it… former Prime Minister articulates government policy better than Uhuru. Be in government or opposition. Don’t have your leg in each,” she said during an interview with NTV on Tuesday night.
“The minority party has let down Kenyans because they don’t know whether they are in government or the opposition… It is okay to have a handshake, but decide whether you are in opposition…”
On the government’s failure to implement several sections of the Constitution, Karua said President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto were not the best people to be expected to do so, being lukewarm.
“There was a disconnect from 2013 and it is therefore no surprise that the Jubilee government has been unable to implement the Constitution,” she said.
Karua reiterated that calls for a referendum are not genuine.
“These are calls to merely add to the number in the Executive. That’s not what Kenyans are missing… top heavy,” she said.
“Let us implement the Constitution extensively first… It’s like buying a new outfit and before even trying it, you say, I want changes…”
Karua said Chapter 12 of the Constitution on Public Finance has not been implemented.
“People are still looting and they are not being held to account…” she said.
“We have devolved corruption to the counties… we need to think, how do we elect leaders, is it based on credentials or handouts and euphoria?”
Karua said 2007 campaigns brought confusion into Kenya’s politics. She said whereas during former President Daniel Moi’s era – only the government had money for campaigns and it was assumed this was because of access to state resources – in 2007, both President Mwai Kibaki’s and Raila’s sides had access to resources.
“his was the first time we saw more choppers than you could count in the skies…. Now, when you say you want to vie, people assume there is some money that magically emerges… Politics has become confused and people won’t listen to you if you are mkono ngumu“
Karua also challenged Uhuru’s firing legislators during Parliamentary Groups, saying he does not have the powers to do so.
Karua also said the government is sowing the seeds of anarchy by failing to obey court orders.
“The Miguna case is particularly embarassing. How a government can tell its own born citizen that he is not a citizen….Whether you like him or not, he is Kenyan… people in government should never use their power to fight its own people…”
On being referred to as the Iron Lady of politics, Karua said it is improper to classify people into silos.
“I wasn’t taught that… I was taught to to be me…. Let people be who they are, who they are endowed to be.”
Karua said her being referred to as the ‘only man in Kibaki’s government was not a complement, but rather a ‘misogynist’ negative statement, adding that only those without a mother – as the strength of the household – could say that.
She said at the age of 62, she is politically young, but will not be forced to declare which position she will be vying for.