Tanzania's Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) party has branded National Super Alliance (NASA) candidate Raila Odinga as a traitor and threw their weight in support of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Speaking at the party's council meeting over the weekend, Chadema’s chair Freeman Mbowe, stated that the party had resolved to back President Kenyatta’s candidature for the presidency in the August 8 polls.
Mbowe said that according to their assessment, President Kenyatta was a better choice for democracy in Kenya and was the right candidate for the presidency.
He claimed that Chadema had supported Odinga’s candidature in 2013 but he turned his back on them in 2015 by supporting Dr John Pombe Magufuli.
“We supported Odinga during the 2013 elections in Kenya but to our surprise, when it came to the 2015 polls in Tanzania, he supported the CCM candidate, Dr John Magufuli. Odinga is a traitor,’’ said Mbowe.
The endorsement by Chadema adds a new twist to the August 8 race after the National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale had earlier claimed that Odinga was setting up a tallying centre in Tanzania with the help of Magufuli’s government.
Duale’s sentiments were however refuted by Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Minister, Augustine Mahiga.
Mr Mahiga denied the claims by Duale that Tanzania was interfering with the Kenyan elections in favour of a particular presidential candidate.
Read Also: Uhuru to Lead Huge Procession Today
Chadema together with a host of other parties fielded Edward Lowassa for the Tanzania's top job in 2015 but was defeated by the current President, John Magufuli.
