Raila a man of courage, conviction for making me running mate

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 27- Azimio Coalition Presidential running mate Martha Karua has defended the move by Raila Odinga to appoint her as his deputy saying he intends to bring change in the country.

Karua termed Odinga as a man of courage with whom she holds similar ideals aimed at transforming the nation.

“I will say this of Raila Odinga, the fact of choosing me as his running mate, a woman with a mind of her own, known focus on certain issues which the media call ‘msimamo kali, sijui ile si kali inakaa aje‘(hard stance)  for him to actually think of considering me, he is not only a man of courage, conviction and belief in himself but he has demonstrated seriousness on issues I hold dear,” she said.

The Narc Kenya Leader pointed out that he wouldn’t have named her as his running mate if he wasn’t serious about ensuring good governance, fight against corruption, human rights and rule of law.

“I believe that he is serious and I commit to you on behalf of my principal that we are serious about these issues and we will need you and every Kenyan to walk with us,”Karua stated.

This is even as she implored the civil organizations to compel Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to highlight its preparedness ahead of the August 9 polls.

In a consultative meeting with civil societies, Karua warned that the country might find itself in the same pitfall in 2017 where presidential elections were nullified as the poll body was found culpable of contravening electoral laws.

“We should write to the electoral commission as well as civil societies as a consortium demanding that we be briefed on how they intend to conduct the elections as well as the tool they intend to employ,” she said.

“Most of all just one question, how has IEBC addressed the shortfall that made the court nullify the presidential election,” Karua added.

The Narc Kenya Leader noted that it would be laboring in vain for Kenyans to come out in numbers and participate in a General Election that will be outlawed due commissions by the commission.

“It looks that its totally unwise to go to another election if they have not addressed. If they have addressed we need a brief and if they haven’t it may look two months away but some things it’s not about laws but procedures. We have enough time,” Karua said.

She exuded confidence that the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance will win the August 9 polls by a majority of the votes by ensuring they obtain the constitutional 50per cent +1 threshold.

 “We in Azimio consider this a winnable election and we do intend to win it not marginally but we are going to work so hard to increase the gap because there is a threshold that makes an election uncontestable,” noted Karua.