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NASA presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga has pointed accusing fingers on President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee administration, saying that they ‘manufactured’ the hunger experienced in the country.
The former prime minister said that the government ignored warning signs from various experts about an impending maize shortage in order to create a national crisis and enable cartels to profit from the situation.
While addressing a press conference at his Capitol Hill office, Nairobi, Odinga said that there was a conspiracy between the Jubilee administration and cartels to import maize from as far as Mexico when it was easier to buy from neighboring Ethiopia.
“This has been a deliberate deception by the government with the intention of assisting famine-brokers make a killing from the drought situation,” he said. He added, “This is clear from the way the government has handled the issue of importation of maize from Ethiopia.”
However, Speaking in Nakuru County last Saturday, the head of state warned that the government would take action against traders hoarding cheap maize flour in a bid to rake in millions. “It has come to my attention that unscrupulous traders are hoarding the cheap maize flour that the government introduced last month,” he said.
“Let them know that the government has powers to prosecute them.”
The Orange Democratic Party leader asked President Kenyatta to lobby the Ethiopian government to sell maize to Kenya in order to address the situation. “It will be cheaper and it will get here faster,” he said.
“When the President was faced by the ICC matter, he continuously lobbied Ethiopia for their support against the charges he faced. Why is he finding it inconveniencing to go to Ethiopia and lobby them for the sake of hungry Kenyans?”
Odinga also demanded the interdiction of Cabinet secretaries Willy Bett (Agriculture) and Mwangi Kiunjuri (Devolution) failing to avert the shortage in time.
“This appears to have been a deliberate move to profit some people,” he said.
“The timing coincided with the purchase of maize from Mexico. The government appears to have been intent on ensuring that the importers from Mexico do not get any competition from the Ethiopian importers.”
“This in an antique KANU method of politics in the election period,” he said.
“We have come from an era where relief food was used to manipulate voters. We are seeing a resumption of this old-style politics.”
Comments
Hon kenjuu can really argue with a d- or welder who is clueless n who didn't even finish high school.When I was growing up my mum use to feed us lots of fish saying that it helps in our brains which they did but compare that with this dude who was Brot up eating all kind of fish n yet he came out with messed brains???Other day he lied to Kenyans that sgr was his idea n deals were signed by uhuruto 2014 n they left office 2013?????He knows he has lost elections n soon he will b back in bondo to do fish farming.
How could " Uhuru Manufactured Food Shortage" and yet there was warning about shortage of food??? Then, according to this useless demagogue and shameless clown, one would presume that Uhuru also manufactured the drought which resulted in food shortage nationwide!!! Come on, stick to a winning argument that the government didn't handle the situation properly --- don't dilute it with silly cheap nonsense about manufactured food shortage when there is real food shortage throughout the country. Dah!!!