Uhuru addressing a rally in Malava, Kakamega County on Wednesday. [Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/facebook.com]
President Uhuru Kenyatta has criticised opposition leaders for campaigning using “bad language” which he says has the potential of plunging the country into chaos.
Uhuru said opposition leaders Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula and Isaac Ruto should avoid using inflammatory statements that plant seeds of divisionism among Kenyans.He said the country was still bleeding from the effects of the 2007/08 Post Election Violence and that Kenya cannot afford to descend into such confusion again.He was speaking in Nyaoke during his two-day tour of Kisii and Nyamira counties.“I call on the opposition to abandon the incitement and rhetoric that led to the chaos in 2008 and instead campaign on a platform of policies,” said Uhuru, who is seeking a second term in office.“Let us not incite Kenyans. Sell your agenda but do not pit Kenyans against each other.”He said recklessness among politicians led to the 2007/08 PEV which claimed over 1,300 lives and displaced more than 650,000 people.Ever since the National Super Alliance (NASA) unveiled its presidential candidate, the president has been critical of opposition leaders over their “intention to divide Kenyans along tribal lines”.At the height of the maize flour shortage, opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed senior leaders within Jubilee had intentionally caused a shortage of the staple with the objective of “punishing” Kenyans from specific regions of the country for supporting him.He also claimed cartels within government exported maize stored at the National Cereals and Produce Board in Eldoret only to import it back in the disguise it originated from Mexico.“They steal our maize, export it and bring it back to sell to us,” Isaac Ruto, a member of the NASA Pentagon said during NASA’s recent rally in West Pokot.