Africa-Press – Kenya. Azimio leader Raila Odinga has accused Kenya Kwanza of damaging the country’s relationship with the East African Community.
Raila said Kenya Kwanza is failing the diplomacy test and the country in the process.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Azimio boss said that since Independence, the country has fostered a good relationship with EAC.
“The East African Community countries are not just our neighbours but also our brothers and sisters. The EAC countries are also our biggest and most important trading partners in the whole world. Since Kenya’s independence, successive administrations have always nurtured this most important relationship,” he said.
“Our leaders carefully and safely navigated around many challenges that could injure the EAC relationship. Since the resumption of the East African Community, as it exists today, the relationship has generally been on an upward trajectory.”
Raila said that since Kenya Kwanza came to power, matters have taken a turn for the worse.
He added that Kenyans raised concerns about the representation of the EAC countries during the Jamhuri Day celebrations.
“None of our neighbouring EAC countries were represented at the level of President, Vice President or Prime Minister as would have been expected in such a significant occasion that has been the tradition until we have taken it for granted,” Raila said.
The ODM leader added that Kenyans should not blame the neighbours for what he termed as a negative development in the relationship.
He claimed that the actions by the government undermined the spirit of the EAC treaty.
Raila said the land-locked neighbours have used Kenya as their preferred route for import and export.
He said that if the system continues, Kenya will pay the price in the long run.
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