Opinion: DP Ruto shows his fear for Odinga as a possible PM!

During the homecoming party for International Trade Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo at Chepkosom Primary School in Uasin Gishu County, Mr Ruto said the ongoing unity talks should benefit citizens not leaders. “Even if we amend the Constitution, it should not be for creation of positions like an executive prime minister,” he said. “Kenyans have the capacity to elect their leaders, not a few of us sitting in corners over a cup of tea and doing the selection.” The remarks come after a meeting between National Super Alliance leader Raila Odinga and retired President Daniel arap Moi in Kabarak on Thursday last week” (Wycliff Kipsang – ‘Handshakes not meant for leadership posts: DP Ruto’ 16.04.2018, Daily Nation).

It is ironic, it is special, that someone like Deputy President William Ruto speaks of elections and people electing their leaders. When he has used foreign entities, when the Jubilee has juiced-up the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission (IEBC) to favor his needs within the two Presidential Elections in 2017. Therefore, he shouldn’t speak about selections of leadership, when he himself is rigged into power. That is throwing stones in a glass-house and he is bad at it.

DP Ruto should fear Odinga, even if Odinga gave-up Canaan. He might fear for the agreement Odinga made with Kibaki back in the day. But DP Ruto and Jubilee has made up roles for Chief Administrative Secretaries. These wasn’t made in the Constitution. So it is okay to amend when it is directly own cronies or political figures into new roles? But when your having partners and leaders from the outside of Jubilee, you cannot alter the Constitution or make provisions to make it work?

Not that Kenya needs an Executive Prime Minister, neither does it need any of the CAS. However, the Jubilee has hired the latter and could for peace sake give Odinga a ceremonial role. Though, it would be a hard time be a Minority Leader in the Senate as a Party and have a Cabinet position. That would mean Orengo would be packing and someone else, which isn’t ODM would become that. Surely, Aden Duale should react to all of this, not only Ruto who fears for the popularity of Odinga.

It is healthy to question it all, as the state shouldn’t get away it all, but neither should Odinga be silent on the matters. That is if he still is an opposition, if not he is totally compromised by the Handshake and the parlay gave way for the regime to do what they like. Ruto seems shaken and frighten… like he is worried about himself. Since he had to use the idea of an election. When he knows what he did to get power last year and should humbly kiss the shoes of Odinga for doing the handshake.

Instead, he does what he usually do, belittle others and trying to weasel himself more power. That is the DP does and has done perfectly well over the years. Now Odinga is the hit-piece again.

Maybe, someone who didn’t use the IEBC to rig himself in, shouldn’t be talking about electing people into leadership. He should be happy with a narrow selection of leadership over a cup of tea. He shouldn’t talk about democratic principals, when they doesn’t measure up, when talking about his own election victory in 2017. Peace.

Patriotic Ginbot 7 Movement for Unity and Democracy: On the passage of H.Res. 128 “Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia” (15.04.2018)

Sen. James Orengo Statement on the IEBC resignations (16.04.2018)

South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA): SSOA Position – IGAD Post Phase II Consultation (14.04.2018)

South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) Statement (15.04.2018)

IEBC: Press Statement from Chairman Chebukati (16.04.2018)

Council of the European Union: “South Sudan – Council Conclusions” (16.04.2018)

IEBC: Joint Statement of Resignation (16.04.2018)

PM Abiy has shown his swagger, but the EPRDF acts and sounds much like the same!

I know it is just under 2 weeks since the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Defence Force (EPRDF) got a new Chairman and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali. Just days after now, he has been traveling and having meetings within the regions highly affected by the prolonged State of Emergency with the draconian laws and military forces attacking civilians, arresting and stopping ordinary activity. Therefore, it is important that the Prime Minister traveling and meeting people in Oromia, even in Amhara later too. But just traveling, while having Agazi squad is still killing people. The numbers since takeover is already up-to six. There might be more, but that is the ones that is reported.

The EPRDF, the state and government are still keeping their Command Post and the military at bay. They are still silencing the people and their protests. There is still internally displaced people and the military, still has the final say. There is a change of the top inside the ruling coalition, but their activity hasn’t changed.

That is both proven in the condemnation of the United States House Resolution 128, that was voted on in the Representatives House yesterday. Not that is direct sanctions against the ERPDF, but it is a sign of change from Washington D.C. However, the EPRDF are condemning it, instead of asking themselves how the US came to that conclusion and assessment of the Ethiopian struggle. The EPRDF should instead work on change from within, unless they want the protesters to continue. Since, they haven’t done much, than small tokens.

It is a big deal that the PM offers a visit of the Opposition leaders at the Palace today, that they are in the lavish and the nice venue listening to the PM. As he eloquently saying the words needed to be said, but the acts of EPRDF isn’t much change, but more of the same. That is why the killings continue, the arrests and the lack of reconciliation. This is the first step, but if the EPRDF want to really open up. They need the SoE gone away and they need to negotiate to have proper elections and trustworthy National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE). Not one rigging for the EPRDF and their Allied Parties.

We know that the EPRDF has no plan of directly changing, they think they can get away with changing the PM and make him speak softly around the Republic. Instead of actually making a difference. That is why the Local Elections are postponed again, instead of showing opportunity to freshen the local government in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa for instance.

The Ethiopian Government should be careful of their activity, as they have detained the leadership of the protest again, the famous writers and politicians that they recently released. I am not the sort of guy traded-off on beautiful speeches, even if I also can be carried away. Dr. Abiy has been able to pick his words wisely, but its time for the first steps of actions. If he wants to be the change or not a puppet. Right now he looks like a puppet and smells like a puppet. He has a nice tone and done some nice public appearances. However, it is not enough.

Not if the EPRDF want to be something else than the Woyane, the TPLF go-lucky gang who oppress the protest and the will of the people. Knowing how they look at themselves, we can see that from Seifeselassie Gebre who wrote this: “However, it is quite refreshing to see some lawmakers such as Senator Inhofe who had the courage to speak the truth by chastising the bill as nothing more than an opportunistic interference at a time Ethiopia finds itself at a critical juncture. The honorable thing for the congressmen would have been to congratulate the new PM and also applaud and commend the peaceful transfer of power that was made possible by (1) EPRDF’s time-tested internal deliberation and selection process for power transition, (2) the timely imposition of the State of Emergency that gave the government enough time to hash out its differences and reach a consensus regarding the selection of a new leader” (Seifeselassie Gebre – ‘H.Res-128: A Pretext in Search of a Neo-liberal Colony’ 12.04.2018, Tigraionline.com).

When you read this your blood should be boiling, as the goodness of the unnecessary deaths, the detentions of rights of the Amhara and Oromo people are put on the altar of one switching chair in Addis Ababa. Instead of thinking of the consequences of the State of Emergency, the TPLF supporters, are saying the Americans are meddling. They shouldn’t look directly at the meddling, but the results and the activity of the military, the Command Post and Agazi Squad in the regions of protest. That is if, the value of life matters to the TPLF and the EPRDF. It is a smack to the face of a Sovereign nations to get a resolution like it did, but they haven’t acted with humans intent. Only to keep power and silence the Queerro of Oromia and the Amhara too. That got to stop!

If the EPRDF is serious, the first thing that has to happen, is to stop the State of Emergency. Second is to recalling the Agazi squad and military police out of the streets into the barracks. Third stop the road-blocks and fourth quit the draconian laws silencing the people. That from the Anti-Terror Law and the Codes put on the SoE. All of that has to stop, then there is time for nice speeches and trying to negotiate, to make a change from the current acts of the EPRDF. Because right now, the government are putting a nice act in-front of the world. But it hasn’t changed the system, neither the disrespectful interference in the citizens lives.

That is why the TPLF, the Woyane, the EPRDF, cannot only send Dr. Abiy as a puppet and speak of elegance and finesse. But he needs to show in acts in Parliament, there need to be votes to stop the State of Emergency. The Parliament needs to investigate the violence, the killings of innocent civilians and the arbitrary arrests. So justice can be for all and the ones who has misused power can get the punishment for their ill-will against the will of the people. The protesters has the right to get that. Even if someone believes silencing them is their god-given right. They shouldn’t, the Oromo and Amhara deserves a better fate. Just like the Tigrai. They don’t own it all.

We know all isn’t what it seems, when ESAT are reporting this:

The new prime ministers of the EPRDF are saying that they do not believe that the EPRDF line will continue. (ESAT News April 4, 2010) The current Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, is calling on the EPRDF line. According to the sources of ESAT’s EPRDF sources, some of the existing leaders of the EPRDF leadership, Ato Sibhat Nega, Abay Hailaye, Bere Simeon, Patriarch Joseph, Seyoum Mesfin, and others who have served in the organization, follow the politics of the new Prime Minister instead of the developmental ideology of the EPRDF. They are insisting that they will have to live up to their promises, and that they are more likely to listen to the opposition than the EPDRF. These new leaders, who have started a new campaign on the EPRDF line, have said that the new prime ministers are eager to save the EPRDF line without a desire to extend the EPRDF line. The ruling party has been in the process of mobilizing different supporters, saying that the Oromia region has created a bad system in our country and is a landlocked country. Although the regions have been given the power to govern themselves, the leadership of the National Intelligence and Security Service is in the process of revolving around the central authority, and the current leaders, who are said to be under attack, If they are going to engage with opponents without permission, then threatening to take action to protect the survival and protection of the archives. He added that the former leaders are gathering opinions, even those who are popular, and that the people have given their trust and confidence that the new prime minister will bring about real change” (ESAT, 12.04.2018).

We have to see if it is all public swagger from the new PM or if the EPRDF are real about it. I doubt it, since the killings has continued since the swearing-in. As long as innocent dies for any government to live, you know something is wrong. It doesn’t matter for who and where, it is just wrong. Peace.

The IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan Communces Consultations on the Outstanding Issues at HLRF (10.04.2018)

10th April 2018, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, accompanied by representatives of the Office of the Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers, held consultations on 10th April 2018 with representatives of the South Sudanese Civil Society Stakeholders to the HLRF to discuss key outstanding issues at the Forum, including positions of the various parties and possible compromises. The consultations are pursuant to the decisions of the IGAD Council of Ministers at its 61stExtra-Ordinary Session on South Sudan held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 26 March 2018 to reconvene the continuation of Phase II of the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) to conduct consultations and undertake shuttle diplomacy with the parties and stakeholders to the HLRF to narrow the gaps between the Parties, prior to the next reconvening of the Forum.

The consultations focused on the key areas of disagreements on governance and security arrangements at the HLRF. Under governance, the following issues were discussed: the composition of the transitional government; structure of the government; responsibility sharing; number of states and size and composition of the Parliament.

On security arrangements, the following issues were discussed: timeframe for reintegration/unification of forces and approach to the formation of one national army; security for Juba during the Transition; demilitarization of civilian centers; cantonment of forces and Security sector reform or establishment of new security services.

Following extensive deliberations, the representatives of the Civil Society and stakeholders at the HLRF   made recommendations for considerations by the Parties at the HLRF.