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| Africa Horn |
| Opposition calls for mass rallies across Kenya |
| 2008-01-12 |
| Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary-General Anyang Nyongo called for Kenyans in towns around Kenya to gather for three days of protests next week, in a move that it hopes will mimic the Ukrainian revolution that led to the overturning of flawed election results. Just minutes after the plan was announced, Kenya's police commissioner said the rallies would not be allowed. Leaders of the opposition laid blame for the country's political deadlock in the lap of President Mwai Kibaki's government which says the opposition should bring its complaints to court. Opposition leaders says that the vote count, which has been surrounded by allegations of rigging, was a violation of the constitution and that the courts are in Mr. Kibaki's pocket. Flanked by opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga and ODM lawmakers who won parliamentary seats, Nyongo called the vote-rigging and the government's stance a betrayal of the rights of all Kenyans. "The Kibaki side does not want a just solution," he said. "It is hell-bent on clinging to power regardless of the verdict of the people of Kenya. The Kibaki side wants only to dictate terms that we should follow. There are no compromises and no second thoughts about what they have done. Talks are just an opportunity for them to delay and silence us, while they consolidate themselves in power." |
| Posted by:Fred |