How Raila conferred to the government the right to violate the Constitution
In one straight week, the government has defiled at least four constitutional principles following the mock swearing in of Rt. Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga. The defilement of the constitution include the government’s refusal to honour court order to restore the broadcast of the four television stations it had shut down, the barring of Okiya Omtata from serving Communications Authority with the court order to restore the television broadcasts, and illegal detention of Miguna Miguna even after the court freed him on bond. Kenyans are however blaming Raila Odinga for these defilements as it is Raila who conferred to the government the right to violate the constitution. A sober minded Kenyan would want to ask how Raila conferred to the government the right to violate the constitution, a question that has a quick answer – Raila was first to violate the constitution when he took an illegal oath to become the People’s President in the Republic of Kenya.
That answer has been explicitly explained by a one Zef who wrote on Facebook, “Those lecturing Uhuru Kenyatta about the court order, which constitution did Raila Odinga follow when he swore himself in on 30th last month? Wasn’t it Raila who said, “constitution my foot”..after refusing to follow the same law you now flatter with kiss? Apparently, it is the same court that ordered IEBC to conduct new election within 60 days. Why were y’all silent when Raila shitted on our constitution? “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”. The same sentiments have been expressed by so many other Kenyans who have supported government’s actions to defile the constitution.
Kenyans who see no wrong when the government openly disobey court orders and illegally detain opposition leaders are giving Raila Amollo Odinga too much credence. The reasoning that Raila Odinga defiled the constitution so his supporters should not question Uhuru Kenyatta and his government for defiling the constitution is forgetting that it is Uhuru Kenyatta who took an oath to “obey, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Kenya” and also to “protect and uphold the sovereignty, integrity and dignity of the people of Kenya”. Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta went ahead to swear that he will “do justice to all in accordance with the Constitution, as by law established, and the laws of Kenya, without fear, favour, affection or ill-will”. As opposed to Raila’s mock swearing in that had no Chief Justice nor instruments of power, Uhuru’s swearing in was administered in accordance to the guidelines outlined in the constitution of Kenya 2010 to the latter.
Thus, if Raila Odinga disobeyed any tenets of the constitution by for example taking an illegal oath, what Uhuru Kenyatta should do is to arrest Raila Odinga and let the courts of justice deal with him, instead of copying him in the violation of the very constitution he (Uhuru Kenyatta) swore to obey, preserve, protect and defend.
