Kajwang was arrested at the Milimani Law Courts where he had gone for the mention of a case challenging pay rise for Members of Parliament/CFM NEWS
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 31 – Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang was arrested on Wednesday, a day after overseeing Raila Odinga’s self-proclaimed oath at Uhuru Park.
Kajwang was arrested at the Milimani Law Courts where he had gone for the mention of a case challenging a gazette notice on pay cuts affecting lawmakers, published by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission in December last year.
There has been no formal statement from police over his arrest but sources in the security sector told Capital FM News that he was being interrogated over his role in National Super Alliance’s (NASA) inauguration event which the government says was illegal.
Kajwang was fully robed and had a lawyer’s wig during Odinga’s “swearing-in”, a depiction interpreted to mean that he was acting as the oath administrator under Article 141 (1) of the Constitution.
The Article reads: “the swearing in of the President-elect shall be in public before the Chief Justice, or, in the absence of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice.”
The police are also seeking NASA National Resistance Movement’s Miguna Miguna who stood beside Odinga during the administration of the oath.
Miguna commissioned the oath taken by Odinga and signed it as a witness under his Miguna and Company Advocates law firm.
Whereas the oath taken by Odinga was so similar to the one outlined under the Third Schedule of the Constitution, which was taken by President Uhuru Kenyatta when he was sworn in for a second term on November 28, it was altered to imply that the NASA presidential candidate in last year’s presidential election was assuming office as the People’s President, a position which does not exist in law.
“I Raila Amollo Odinga in full realization of the high calling assume the office of the People’s President of the Republic of Kenya do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the People and the Republic of Kenya and that I will preserve, protect, and, defend the Constitution of Kenya as by law established and all other laws of the Republic as adopted by the people of Kenya,” the 73-year-old swore.
“I will protect, uphold the sovereignty, integrity, and dignity of the people of Kenya. So help me God,” he went on.
Odinga explained to a mammoth crowd gathered at the Uhuru Park on Wednesday that his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka would be sworn in as his deputy at a later date, after he failed to show up for the much-publicized event.
NASA co-leaders, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula were equally missing at the event.
“We’ve fulfilled our promise to take the oath of office. I want to tell you that Kalonzo, Mudavadi, and Wetangula are still with us and you will be told what happened later,” Odinga said immediately after taking his oath.
As a precursor to the swearing-in, NASA on Friday last week released what it claimed were authentic results of the August 8 presidential election annulled by the Supreme Court.
Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) party Secretary General Geoffrey Osotsi announced that Odinga garnered 8,104,744 votes (50.24 per cent) against President Kenyatta’s 7,908,215 votes (48.92 per cent) in the election.
Siaya Senator James Orengo defended the results as “authentic, undiluted and unadulterated” saying Odinga won in 26 counties, the prisons and Diaspora.
“This is it. This is what the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has denied the people of Kenya ever since the elections were held on August 8,” Orengo said during an event held at a Nairobi hotel.
Orengo acted as a Master of Ceremony at the swearing-in fete on Tuesday.
While commenting on the results, Mudavadi, the ANC leader said the “information given was too loaded,” adding “it needs time for distillation.”
Odinga and Kalonzo made no comment on the numbers.
The failure by the three NASA leaders at Odinga’s swearing raised eyebrows with doubts being cast on the unity of the alliance.
While speaking to the press ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Musyoka emphasized the need for dialogue, while insisting that they were still consulting on the way forward regarding the planned inauguration.
“We’re still consulting and we will let you know. We must examine these issues so that we know what to do,” he said even as he claimed that his security detail had been withdrawn.
“Even worldwide people are expecting this event but what do we do when there is a complete shutdown,” he added while faulting the Communications Authority of Kenya for shutting down local news channels in a number of platforms, the most affected being free-to-air.
“We actually don’t know. Our phones could be switched off as well,” the Wiper leader speculated.
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