NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 10 — Deputy President William Ruto’s allies have called for swift action from investigative agencies on the use of an often emotive and vague phrase ‘madoadoa’ by ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Odinga used the word that recently landed Meru Senator Mithika Linturi in trouble while addressing a public rally Wajir.
“As my soldiers you must be armed and have ammunition. By that I mean you need to have a voter’s card and a national identify card,” he said.
“We want you to elect Azimio candidates. We don’t want madoadoa (spots),” the presumed candidate of the Azimio Movement told his followers.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen was among those who called for action.
“To demonstrate rule of law and in particular equality before the law, let Directorate of Criminal Investigations – DCI and office of the Director of Public Prosecutions act as swift as in the case of Mithika Linturi,” he said.
While the madoadoa phrase is often used to rally voters behind what is termed as six-piece voting where parties urge their constituents to elect candidates in all elective posts from their outfits, it also carries a negative connotation of ethnic cleansing.
Senator Linturi was arrested in January after he used the phrase at DP Ruto’s mega rally in Eldoret on January 8.
He was later freed after the prosecution declined to prefer charges against him.
Officers from the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), who arrested him, had argued that Linturi’s remarks were aimed at stirring a conflict pitting the predominant ethnic community in Eldoret against minorities.
The madoadoa phrase featured prominently in Kenya’s cases at the Hague-based International Criminal Court where six Kenyans were charged over the 2007/08 Post Election Violence that claimed 1,100 lives and saw over 600,000 people displaced.
The post-election chaos broke out after Odinga’s camp who led the main opposition in a contest against then President Mwai Kibaki rejected the outcome of the 2007 General Election citing rigging of the presidential election.
Odinga’s allies at the time — Ruto, Henry Kosgei and radio journalist Joshua arap Sang — ended up in the Hague over the mayhem.
On Kibaki’s side, ICC indicted Uhuru Kenyatta, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura and Commissioner of Police Mohammed Hussein.
The cases against all the six individuals which had been labeled by critics as politically-engineered collapsed after most witnesses recanted their statements.
Raila will face Ruto in the August 9 presidential election.
