The National Super Alliance (NASA) on Sunday postponed the Tuesday, December 12 inauguration of Opposition Leader Raila Odinga as the people's President.
Reports in the Standard indicate that NASA canceled the inauguration following requests by the international community who had requested for more time to facilitate dialogue between the Opposition Leaders and President Uhuru Kenyatta.
"He (Raila) doesn’t want to throw the country into turmoil and he has reasoned with those asking him to shelve the plan,” the Standard reported.
[caption caption="File image of NASA Leaders meeting Church leaders and diplomats"]
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Other reports, however, explain that some leaders in the coalition were hesitant to endorse the plan arguing that many lives had been lost and much more may be lost if the team proceeds with the inauguration.
“It was meant to send a signal to the world that we are not unreasonable people and to show that NASA is not made up of anarchists. A lot of people have died,” the Nation reported.
On Sunday, NASA Principal Musalia Mudavadi announced that the inauguration had been rescheduled adding that new instructions will be given soon.
"Following extensive internal consultations and engagement with a wide range of national and international interlocutors, the leadership wishes to advice the NASA fraternity and the general public that the swearing in of Rt Honorable Raila Amolo Odinga and His Excellency Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka as President and Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, and the launch of the People's assembly scheduled for Tuesday 12 December have been postponed to a later date," he stated.
He divulged that the swearing in was to take place in Mombasa and apologized to the residents who had offered to host the ceremony.
"We wish to thank the Government and the People of Mombasa County who had graciously offered to host the event. Thank you very much Mombasa," he noted.
[caption caption="File image of NASA Leaders addressing the media"]
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The coalition noted that the decision to reschedule the event would not weaken them adding its resolve would remain the same.
"Specifically, we wish to reiterate that any national dialogue must have electoral justice on the agenda. We are not interested in sharing illegitimate dictatorial power.
"We also want to assure Kenyans that we remain fully on course in pursuit of electoral justice. Our resistance to dictatorship is resolute and irreversible. We remind the NASA fraternity to maintain our civic and economic resistance. There are only two options- Democracy or self- determination," Mudavadi stated.
