The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has written to President Uhuru Kenyatta asking him to intervene over the recent chaos witnessed in Deputy President William Ruto's rallies.
UDA referenced the case of the Jacaranda Grounds rally on Sunday, January 16, 2022, which required the intervention of police officers after rowdy youth interrupted the rally.
The party accused its opponents, ODM in particular, of sponsoring violence during Ruto's rallies.
UDA further accused the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai of failing to act upon the incidents despite reports being filed on the matter and the cases reports to his office.
"It has since become abundantly clear that the goons were encouraged and facilitated to prevent the event from taking place, in keeping with ODM's 'Bedroom Policy' of using violence to ring-fence parts of the country as no-go-zones for other political parties.
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"This disastrous practice is an official policy in ODM and has been implemented over the years to suppress democratic competition, at horrendous cost to innocent Kenyans in life, limb and possession," UDA said in the letter.
"As a general rule, nothing has been done by the security agencies to prevent or arrest this egregious criminality. Without any form of accountability, the emboldened perpetrators continue to gloat over their deeds and threaten to unleash worse mayhem in future," the party added.
UDA noted that to date, over ten (10) major criminal incidents of violent disruption have taken place, and at least six (6) have been brought to the attention of IG Mutyambai. The party noted that they have all gone unattended by his office.
"This negligence on their part is not only dismaying to all law-abiding Kenyans, and disappointing to the UDA fraternity, but it also explicitly signals the State's approval or support for the criminal acts of ethnic and political violence conducted in furtherance of a divisive agenda obviously focused on the 2022 General Election," the party said.
UDA accused ODM of using violence to victimise other parties, alleging that the Raila Odinga-led party was overwhelmed with the UDA's massive following.
The party further accused a section of leaders for uttering hateful remarks during Odinga's rally at the Thika Greens Stadium on Saturday, January 15.
They claimed that nothing had been done to question the leaders in a bid to avert what was witnessed in the country in 2007.
UDA told Uhuru that ODM and Azimio are setting up the country for a troubled general election and asked the Head of State to be impartial and proactive in enforcement of the legal framework to uphold Constitutional freedoms, human rights, democratic participation and national cohesion.
"For this purpose, we call your attention to the provisions of Act. 81 of the constitution, Part IV of the Election Act, Number 24 of 2011, Section 10 and 11 of the Election Offences Act, Number 37 of 2016, the National Cohesion and Integration Act and the Penal Code," the party wrote.
"We therefore demand an assurance from Your Excellency, as the chairman of the National Security Council, that Kenyan lives and property remain protected under the law, and that the instruments of state and security apparatus will not be deployed in a partisan manner, or to cause mayhem and deaths to propel a preferred candidate to victory, hence compromising the constitutional right of 50 million Kenyans to have a say in a free fair, transparent and peaceful election guaranteed by the Constitution," UDA pleaded.
