Post Election Violence victims in Nakuru County appeal for peace

At least 14,000 members of Kenya Internally Displaced Persons Organization (KIDPO) are urging the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to exercise vigilance against reckless politicians stirring tension ahead of the upcoming general elections.

The members who say bore the brunt of divisive politics in 2007-2008 want the commission and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to put sanctions on politicians making reckless public utterances that are bound to polarize the country.

Speaking in  Nakuru after hours of a consultative meeting of KIDPO, the patron of the organization Peter Tena challenged the country`s political leaders to put aside their personal differences and channel their energies to steering the country into a peaceful election on the 9^th of August this year.

In an apparent reference to controversial remarks about vote-rigging in 2017 made by Murang`a County legislator Sabina Chege, Tena expressed concern at the consequences of such remarks saying they are likely to threaten prevailing peace among Kenyans and cast the IEBC as an untrustworthy umpire.

Chege has since landed in trouble after the remarks she made on Thursday in Vihiga County last Thursday during a campaign tour of Azimio La Umoja-allied leaders where she alluded to vote-rigging in the 2017 General Election where President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner.

The lawmaker said there was some truth in claims that votes were stolen in the last election and the same could be repeated in this year’s polls.

Tena demanded that the lawmaker tender a public apology to Kenyans for her remarks which he described as senseless and unpatriotic.

He used the occasion to appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to work closely in the quest for peaceful campaigns and general elections.

The patron observed that the growing acrimony between them is stoking anxiety in the country. He appealed for an amicable political truce between them, as leaders of government, for a campaign season that will be free from anxiety among their followers.

He urged the two leaders to stay true to the Jubilee Party`s Pre-election vows made at the Afraha Stadium in Nakuru in 2013 and 2017 to foster peace and security for all citizens.

Tena also called on the government to expedite resettlement of the last batch of the 2007-2008 Internally Displaced persons in various resettlement farms across the country before the August general polls.

The patron, at the same time, appealed to members of KIDPO to continue playing their role as peace ambassadors by sustaining the organization`s peace drive that seeks to encourage citizens across the country to foster peace during campaigns and elections.

His sentiments were heartily echoed by members of the organization Ruth Wanjira and Charles Kithinji.

The members argued that it is incumbent upon the government to ensure that all citizens enjoy the universal aspirations of mankind like peace and security, human rights, and freedoms as is enshrined in the law.