KTN anchor Yvonne Okwara has sharply criticised President Uhuru Kenyatta following an order issued to the IEBC clerks in areas where residents are pastoralists.
Mr Kenyatta instructed the electoral body's registration team to follow pastoralists wherever they were moving to in order to register them as voters.
"Because of the ravaging drought, many pastoralists are leaving their homes in search of water. It is impossible for them to find time to come and register. You should pursue them," Kenyatta said while in Marsabit.
These remarks were not taken kindly by Ms Okwara who was quick to highlight in her weekly segment, My Take, the extent politicians had gone simply to get votes.
She mentioned that the President ought to have made sure that there would be people following the pastoralists to give them food as they register as voters.
"The President is on record as having urged the IEBC to follow pastoralists in the arid areas whenever they go to make sure they are registered. Hopefully, there is someone else following them with food and not just BVR kits
"Two million Kenyans are currently facing starvation but the political leaders are arguing about whose base has registered the most number of voters," the KTN anchor stated.
Okwara described the rigorous voter registration campaigns led by the two leaders; President Kenyatta and CORD leader Raila Odinga, as "premature political campaigns disguised as voter mobilization rallies".
The journalist insisted that it was callous for the political leaders to simply want to use citizens because of the power they have – the vote.
"Why do we allow our politician to simply see us as statistics and voting machines? As long as you allow them to treat you as a vote rather than a human being there is no real value in casting your ballot," she emphasised.
Nonetheless, during his Marsabit tour, President Kenyatta assured locals that: "We are reviewing the budget to step up distribution of relief food in the affected counties."
Here is the video:
[Video:]
