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The Jubilee Coalition is to blame for causing disharmony within the CORD Coalition, Siaya Senator James Orengo says.
The Siaya Senator claims that the Jubilee Coalition is using its machinery to spread rumours that there is a break-up among the coalition principals.
There have been stories that there was a pre 2013 election pact between the three principals Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula that has been broken by Raila.
Orengo together with Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama however say that the stories are fake.
Here’s what they said in full
” Over the last few days leading to last weekend, a number of our leaders in the coalition have made statements that have created the impression that there is discord in CORD and that the coalition is about to fall apart. Some of us have clearly been misquoted to have taken positions which, in reality, we have not taken.
This has provided fodders for Jubilee which is struggling to find anything to bury its three years of failed leadership and its other glaring failure to achieve the unity it has been touting to create one Jubilee Party.
While we recognize that the many declarations about who should be the Coalition’s flag bearer in 2017 have upset our supporters’ sense about our steadiness, we wish to assure Kenyans that CORD remains intact and shall remain intact.
We shall continue to encourage debate within the coalition BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT that the debate is healthy and promotes the principles and agenda of the coalition and does not jeopardise our unity and the dreams of the people of Kenya. But we have reminded our members today that the most important assignment we have from the people of Kenya is not to seek positions for ourselves but to keep Jubilee in check.
We will not lose sight of this historic duty that we have performed with distinction. Without strong demands by CORD, a number of thieves would still be in government today, protected as whistle blowers.
Today, with the crisis in financial sector, the crisis at Youth Fund, missing euro Bond billions in addition to stolen NYS funds that are yet to be recovered, our service to the people of Kenya can never be clearer.
In this regard, we wish to assure CORD supporters and the country at large that the CORD principals are alive to the historic duty they have to the country and they are reading from the same script.
As a coalition, we have laid down procedures for addressing emerging issues. We will stick to those procedures.
The bonds that bind the Coalition are much stronger than the prevailing perception of discord. While appreciate the rights of our MPs to offer their views on the subject of who will be our flag bearer, we however remind them that the CORD coalition has robust organs charged with this responsibility and at the right time, this decision will be taken.
We note with concern that most of the vocal MPs on this matter are the lot that has long characterized themselves as rebels and who have since stopped participating in the activities of the coalition. Shocked with the realization that elections are quickly zeroing in, these group of MPs now see an opportunity to propel their unprincipled politics by sowing seeds of discord within the coalition. We know who their masters are and we will devastatingly deal with their masters.
The CORD Executive Management Committee shall not hesitate to invoke disciplinary measures against members whose actions and utterances go against the letter and spirit of the coalition.
Finally, we wish to make this clear to all. The task of picking the CORD presidential candidate does not rest with the three principals. It does not begin or end with the principals endorsing or refusing to endorse the other. It is a coalition-wide affair and we have laid down principles and procedures on how it is done. The calls for endorsement must therefore end. It is not CORD’s policy that its candidate shall be picked through endorsement by fellow principals.
