“You insulted the sovereignty, integrity of Ugandans”- NRM responds to Kenya’s ODM MPs over Ruto saga
The ruling National Resistance Movement(NRM) has responded to utterances made earlier this week by a section of MPs from Kenya’s Orange Democratic Movement(ODM) in regards Deputy President William Ruto’s trip to Uganda which was stopped.
Following Ruto’s blockade from continuing with the private trip to Uganda, a section of MPs from the ODM led by their chairman John Mbadi and Director of Elections Junet Mohamed blasted their Deputy President for choosing to work with Uganda’s NRM party that they said has a bad record.
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“The NRM record on human rights is not worth borrowing from. The NRM record on democracy is not worth borrowing… even worse; the NRM is a party of lifetime presidency. NRM is a party that has kept someone in power for 30 years,” the ODM MPs said on Wednesday.
In a rebuttal to the statements, the NRM Secretary General, Richard Todwong has written to Junet Mohammad, the Suna East Constituency legislator who led to the group informing him that the claims are not only unfounded but also insulted the integrity of Ugandans.
“I write to draw your attention and those of your ilk to the individual and collective comments you made against the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, the sovereign government of the Republic of Uganda and above all, the personal disrespect and insults you accorded His Excellency General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the President of Uganda and the entire Country. Your unfortunate utterances were indeed out of a possible deep-rooted internal political misunderstanding within your country,”Todwong said.
“We believe that your proclamation does not represent the official position of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in Kenya against the 2 well-established historical ties between the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party and the people of Kenya.”
According to Todwong, it was appalling for the ODM legislators to ignore the social, political and economic history of Uganda but above all the close ties between the two neighbouring countries before making the utterances that he says ripped Ugandan apart.
“Our President whom you insulted is massively elected by the population every time we go for general elections. Your statement is an insult to the sovereignty and integrity of Ugandans who always elect their leaders as mentioned above,”Todwong said.
The NRM Secretary-General said the statements by the Kenyan MPs were misguided since the Ugandan ruling party will never interfere in the internal affairs of any country.
“One of our key attributes is the promotion of the pan-Africanism spirit of brotherhood. We don’t do this to undermine or to “capture power” in any country as you alleged. We neither stop any visitor from entering our country as long as such a visit is not of security risk to our people,” Todwong said.
"We promote and are committed to the East African Treaty that encourages sovereignty of countries and non-interference in the affairs of other countries. We respect the independence and sovereignty of Kenya as a country and we appreciate the continuous cooperation between our leaders and people. No amount of diversionary statements from individuals can make us think otherwise."
The developments come on the backdrop of the forthcoming general elections in Kenya set for 2022
Ruto, who in 2015 campaigned for President Museveni in Kapcholwa for the 2016 general elections, is said to be eyeing his boss, President Uhuru Kenya’s seat in next year’s general elections.
Analysts say there is fear that Ruto might get "some tactics" from his "comrade" Museveni to help him win Kenya's presidency.
https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/08/03/how-museveni-found-himself-trapped-in-the-middle-of-william-rutos-troubles/
