NYAHURURU, Kenya, Mar 22 – Another Narc Kenya MP has expressed his intention to ditch Martha Karua\’s flower party for the Party of National Unity as the clock ticks towards the 2012 General Elections.
Ol-Kalou Member of Parliament Erastus Mureithi who is the party\’s resource mobilisation committee chairman has confirmed that he will support Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta in his quest for the 2012 Presidency.
The move comes barely a week after Juja MP William Kabogo also revealed that he was now backing the Gatundu South MP in the run up to the elections.
While announcing his intention, Mr Mureithi said the bandwagon led by Ms Karua was headed for doom owing to her hardstand as far as the International Criminal Court issues were concerned.
Mr Kenyatta and five other suspects including Eldoret North MP William Ruto have been summoned to appear before The Hague based court over the 2008 post election violence that led to the death of more than 1,500 Kenyans and displacement of over 650,000 others.
Mr Mureithi claimed that the Narc-K party leader was pushing for the Ocampo Six to be tried at The Hague so that the campaigns for her presidency are smooth.
"I have looked at the reason why Ms Karua was speaking tough against leaders pushing for a local tribunal and I discovered she just wanted to have smooth sailing campaigns for her presidency which means she was not being sincere both to herself and to Kenyans," the MP said.
Both Mr Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP have expressed their interest to contest the presidency but both are suspects set to appear at The Hague next month.
Mr Mureithi also changed his earlier stand to have the perpetrators of post election violence tried at The Hague and instead pushed for a local tribunal.
He said he made the about turn after consulting his Ol-Kalou constituents who believed that Mr Kenyatta was better placed to lead the country and the whole ICC issue was political.
"I want to declare that I am ready to support Uhuru Kenyatta in his quest for presidency in 2012 and also vow to defend him in the post election violence case in which he is suspected to have perpetrated the post election violence,\’ he told Capital News on telephone from Geneva where he is attending an international convention on Agriculture.
The lawmaker regretted that Kenyans had confidence that the ICC would offer justice to those affected by the violence but the whole issue had been politicised.
He said that he had all the time supported that the suspects be tried at The Hague but had now changed his mind since he believed that the process was out to lock some politicians out of the 2012 presidential race.
"We feel that prominent politicians and foreign countries have interfered with the matter for political and economic gains. This is unacceptable as the issue should not be used to lock some people from running for presidency," he observed.
He reiterated his stand that all the victims of post election violence should get justice adding that it could be achieved through a local tribunal.
Mr Mureithi observed that Kenyans should have confidence in their local institutions now that the new Constitution is in place.
He welcomed the move by central Kenya MPs to support Mr Kenyatta as he defends himself at the ICC and also in his bid for 2012.
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