A group of political and religious leaders drawn from the Lower Eastern region have declared their support for President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta.
The group comprising former elected and newly elected leaders from Kitui, Machakos and Makueni counties threw its weight behind Mr Kenyatta on Wednesday, pledging to support his new Government.
Led by former Kibwezi MP Philip Kaloki of the Wiper Democratic Movement, the leaders distanced themselves from the intended court suit by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) contesting the presidential results. They instead congratulated Mr Kenyatta’s on his election as President.
Meeting at Ole-Sereni hotel in Nairobi after consultations, they said they want to support the Uhuru Kenyatta led government.
“We believe he won with over 6 million votes as was declared by the electoral commission and we want to say we are here to support him,” said Prof Kaloki, who lost in the Makueni Governorship race to Prof Kivutha Kibwana of Muungano party.
Prof Kaloki contested on a Wiper Democratic Movement ticket and garnered 79,513votes against Prof Kibwana’s 146,534.
Among the close to 300 leaders were former MPs Kiema Kilonzo, Grace Mwewa, Agnes Ndetei, Jackson Mwalulu, Peter Kiilu and MP elect Rachael Nyamai, (Kitui South). Also present were several elected politicians and others who lost in the 2013 General Election together with members of the clergy from the region.
A statement by the group explained that their decision was borne out of appreciation that the country is greater than an individual.
“We want political and economic stability. We want a conducive environment for the new Government to thrive and that is why we are supporting the President-elect,” said Prof Kaloki, who served as the secretary of the Wiper Parliamentary Group in the last Parliament.
The group argued that there is always a winner and loser and that CORD can proceed with the court case if it has evidence.
“So far we have not seen any evidence so we are here to congratulate the president elect rather than going out there to look for evidence that is not there,” said Prof Kaloki.
The leaders said the decision was meant to show direction to their community.
Prof Kaloki is among Wiper Democratic Movement MPs who were skeptic of the ODM-Wiper agreement that formed the CORD alliance.
