Rt. Hon.(Eng) Raila Amolo Odinga

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 251 to 260 of 1732.

• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Let me conclude by saying this--- view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, what I am saying is that I was answering the question to the best of my knowledge and ability. So, I was just giving that kind of background information, to state why there is no official Government position on this matter. There are only partisan positions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the position is that sections of the Government prefer March elections and other sections prefer December elections, like myself, for good reasons that in March schools will be on and teachers who act as Returning Officers and Presiding Officers will be teaching. It will also be raining. That ... view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me correct myself. First, I said that the court made a ruling and we respect that ruling. That is what the President has gone by. I should even have added that, that is what was also adopted by the Cabinet. So, if you want the official Government position, that is the official Government position. But I talked about my own position and said that I disagree. I have said clearly that there is an official position. I also said that, that ruling was being contested in court and there is an appeal. view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have actually stated clearly what the Cabinet decision was. I only wanted to add that it was not a unanimous decision, but it is a decision all the same. That is the reason I went on to state my own preference. But as the hon. Member knows, this matter is already being contested in court. There is already a court case that is ongoing and, therefore, we will await the outcome of that petition. view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, because a decision has already been made by the court, there will be no choice but to try and live with it. As I was saying, it will disrupt learning in schools and that is the reason there was preference for December. But if that is what the law will say, then the Government will just have to live with it. It is not just the schools, but even the budgetary circle based on the new Constitution that will be affected to a certain extent. This is because, as you know, the Minister for Finance is required ... view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I do not know whether the hon. Member lives in Kenya. He needs to know that I am a Member of Parliament for a constituency that is not far away from the House here. That is a very metropolitan constituency. view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: If I were to be an architect of ethnic balkanization, I would never see the Floor of this House. I have never been elected on the basis of the votes from one ethnic community in the constituency that I represent. However, when ethnic drums are sounded, Kenyans become very shocked. Kenyans know when the ethnic drums are beaten. Recently, they heard them being beaten in Limuru. A group of people from a few ethnic communities went to a meeting and said: “We will elect you. We have already said that you are our candidate. But go and tell us in ... view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: When others go and assemble in Eldoret and say that they are the KAMATUSA or the KAMATUSI and that you are their leader, they are beating ethnic drums. These are the kind of groupings that the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) is talking about. These are the kind of groupings that will not take this country very far. When I am a leader of a national political party and I want to consult but I only invite members of my ethnic community, even from other political parties of which I am not a member, to tell me the way forward, ... view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I quoted extensively from the report by the NSIS which pointed political leaders and urged that they desist. I was doing this because I know that Members of this House know some of those leaders that are being urged to desist. There are other groups which have been campaigning asking people not to register as voters. Those are also being dealt with so that we create an enabling environment. We have been urging that we engage each other on the basis of ideas. Let us talk about ideologies rather than personalities. We should de-personalize this issue and ... view
• 9 May 2012 in National Assembly: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member is trying to compare apples with oranges. The agenda of the first meeting was purely ethnic. The second meeting was to counter it by saying: “We are nationalists and we do not support what was said by the other people.” They made it very clear in their statement that they were against this and they were dispersed in a very crude and old fashioned manner which was reminiscent of those days of baba na mama . That is why I came to the defence of those victims of ruthless violence. view