Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has warned that he will soon be sworn in as the “people’s president” while scoffing at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s warning last week that anyone who undermines the country’s constitution or peace of the nation would face the full wrath of the law, Kenya’s Daily Nation reports.
While the leader of the National Super Alliance coalition will appease millions of his supporters with this provocative move, his determination to have a counter swearing-in to the official inauguration of Kenyatta, who was sworn in on November 28 to serve his second term after winning the October 26 election rerun, is likely to lead to more trouble.
Odinga had initially planned to be “sworn in as the people’s president” on December 12, Kenya’s national Independence Day, but was warned against the move by religious leaders, trade unionists and international diplomats.
The US warned that those responsible for refusing to negotiate the political impasse could be subject to sanction.
Speaking after he inaugurated the Coast People’s Assembly at Sun ’N’ Sand Beach Resort in Kilifi County, Odinga on Sunday said his oath of office would happen soon.
“Nobody will stop me from lifting the Bible. It is better to stand up for the truth and die while at it, than to die lying down.”
Odour Ongwen, the chief executive director of Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party, said the timetable for swearing Odinga in at a national gathering was complete. “We will swear him in, whether they like it or not. We will do it at a national gathering where he will take the reins of power immediately.”
– African News Agency/ANA
