404 Summit House
Moi Avenue/Monrovia Lane
P.O. Box 4403-00100 GPO
Nairobi Kenya
Tel:
+254-20-310321
Cell:
+254-722-620953Email: info@socialdemocraticpartykenya.org
June 12, 2008
Rt. Hon Raila Amolo Odinga EGH, EBS MP
The Prime Minister Of The Republic Of Kenya
ODM Party Leader
The Treasury
Nairobi
Hon. Professor Anyang' Nyong'o, MP
Minister for Medical Services
Secretary General
Orange Democratic Movement Party of Kenya
Orange House
Menelik Road
Kilimani Area
P.O. Box 2478-00202
Nairobi
RE: Message of Condolence and Solidarity to & with Orange Democratic Movement
Comrades:
We extend our mkono wa tanzia as a party to the leadership and membership of ODM following the twin tragedies of the sudden and shocking demise of the Hon. Kipklaya Kones, the Minister for Roads and Hon. Lorna Laboso, the Assistant Minister in the office of the Vice-President.
The loss of these brilliant mobilizers, government officials and indefatigable parliamentarians is not only a blow to the ODM but to the entire Kenyan nation.
As Kenyans weep over yet another round of deaths affecting the Orange Democratic Movement we need to celebrate the achievements of the two ODM MPs; we need to recall the popular mandate and following they received from the electorate; we need to savour the optimism and the promise Kenya exuded when it gave ODM an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly and in civic councils right across the country.
We should also mention that on the same day that the shocking deaths dominated our national headlines, another stalwart supporter of the ODM also passed away. Omondi Tonny, a young and upcoming musician who last year contributed tremendously to the ODM electoral campaign through his live performances, CDs and DVDs died in Mombasa following a road accident in that coastal city.
The Social Democratic Party stands in solidarity with the Orange Democratic Movement as ODM rebounds from this latest unexpected setback.
As a party we see ourselves walking and working in tandem with the Orange Democratic Movement as we struggle together to deepen the democratic gains of our nation and seek justice and equality for the people of Kenya. We share the broad social democratic ideals that ODM articulates in its manifesto and other programmatic documents and will always be a steadfast ally in the fight to carve out a new and more progressive Kenya for the present and future generations.
As they say in the African-American social movements, we should not agonize, but organize, even as we grapple with demise of the two waheshimiwa. That would be the most fitting tribute to Hon. Kones and Hon. Lorna because they perished in the midst of political organizing-they were in the throes of campaigning for ODM in the just concluded by-elections.
Indeed, even in the midst of this mourning, we at SDP must also pause to congratulate ODM on its victories in Ainamoi, Wajir North and Emuhaya. You confounded the pundits and cynics who had written off ODM's chances of garnering even a single win.
The author of this letter had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Esther Muthoni Passaris earlier today and learned first hand of the rampant irregularities in the Embakasi contest with dubious registration rolls, intimidation and attempts to block ODM supporters from exercising their constitutional right to cast a vote for a candidate of their own choice.
In this context we are talking about the twin tragedies against a backdrop of determined attempts by a clique of power mongers on the political scene to roll back the democratic gains of the Kenyan people. The just concluded by-elections underscore the need for a constitutional order and reaffirm the need to mobilize the Kenyan people to peacefully push for more democratic, social and economic reforms.
In our view, the ODM should not be overly worried about the crude attempts to reduce its majority in parliament by hook or crook. ODM should rest assured that it has and will continue to have the majority where it really counts- outside parliament, among the millions of Kenyans who hanker for a different political dispensation for this country. The masses are with ODM; please keep them politically engaged because they hold the life insurance policy that will guarantee the longevity and relevance of the Orange Vision.
Dear Comrades in the Orange Democratic Movement:
Draw from this temporary, tragic set back new energies, new vigour and redoubled resilience.
That would be the best way to keep alive the legacy of ODM's two fallen soldiers:
Hon. Lorna Laboso and Hon. Kipkalya Kones.
In Solidarity,
Onyango Oloo
(Acting) Secretary General
Social Democratic Party of Kenya
1 comment:
The market has some built in errors in it and socialism is the best way to get rid of them.
Pundits argue that socialism cannot work, actually, it is not socialism that doesn't work in reality, it is capitalism that doesn't.
We now see a status where hitherto Capitalist nations are employing socialist policies, universal health care, affordable free accommodation, food stamps, free education, etc. The future of Kenya is in socialism, and SDP is the vehicle! The destination is pretty clear, as Amartya Sen postulated, we all need to be given the capabilites to achieve lifes necessities and enrich our lives, and this can only be done by the triad creed of socialism, social justice, freedom and equality of opportunity! Let us Unite!
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