Date Direct Tel Number In reply please quote Your reference T.B.A 18th  February,  2013                                           our reference  TNA/IEBC01/18    Dear  Sirs,  

RE:  PRESIDENTIAL  DEBATE  2013  

We  write  to  commend  you  on  successfully  orchestrating  the  first  ever  Presidential  Debate  held  in  Kenya.  The  Debate  was  broadcast  simultaneously  on  all   the  country’s  Television  and  Radio  channels  and   it  will  undoubtedly  and  rightly  come  to  be  viewed  as  a  seminal  event  in  Kenya’s  history.    

However,  we  wish  to  register  our  profound  disappointment  that  there  were  numerous  acts  of  omission  and   commission   that   affected   the   overall   tenor   of   the   debate,   particularly   the  moderators’   obsession  with  the  ICC  issue  vis-­‐a-­‐vis  Jubilee  Presidential  Candidate,  Hon.  Uhuru  Kenyatta.  

It   is   our   observation   that   the   moderators   deliberately   allowed   the   other   candidates   to   escape   public  scrutiny  over  various  national  scandals  that  have  characterized  their  political  careers;  a  number  of  which  are  even  more  prominent  that  the  ICC  issue.  

We  would  have  expected  that  after   the   introduction  of   the  so-­‐called  “elephant-­‐in-­‐the-­‐room”  regarding  Uhuru  Kenyatta     and   the   ICC;  due   focus  would  also  have  been  given   to  equally     sizeable   jumbos   (hard  questions)   touching   on   other   candidates,   including   the   Triton,   Maize   and   Kazi   kwa   Vijana   scandals  involving  Prime  Minister  Raila  Odinga.  

It  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  impartial  observers  that  when  Senior  Counsel  Paul  Muite  introduced  a  new  dimension   to   the   ICC  debate  –   to   the  effect   that  Raila  could  not  have  escaped  blame  when  his  deputy  William  Ruto  was  being  prosecuted  over  the  same  issues;  moderators  failed  to  pursue  this  angle  further  and   instead   they   side   stepped   the   issue   entirely.   Rather   than   putting   Raila   on   his   defense   over   his  puzzling   omission   from   ICC   scrutiny,   the   moderators   seemed   predisposed   to   a   set   line   of   thinking   in  which  they  could  not  even  entertain  the   idea  that  Raila  Odinga  had  a  case  to  answer  regarding  the  ICC  and  Post  Election  Violence  (PEV).    

In  a  similar  vein,   it   is  profoundly  curious  that  Deputy  Prime  Minister  Musalia  Mudavadi  was  not  probed  over   his   alleged   involvement   in   the   complex  multi-­‐billion-­‐shilling  Goldenberg   Scandal   despite   his   name  

   PRIVATE  &  CONFIDENTIAL  

 The  Organizing  Committee  The  Presidential  Debate  2013  The  Presidential  Debate  2013  Secretariat  Off  Mara/Ragati  Road  NAIROBI    

 

THE  NATIONAL  ALLIANCE  PROMISO  PLAZA,  JOGOO  ROAD  P.O  BOX  13913-­‐00800  NAIROBI  EMAIL:  Info@TNA.co.ke              WEBSITE:  www.TNA.co.ke  

 

 

     

 

featuring  prominently  in  a  number  of  Reports  which  were  commissioned  to  investigate  the  scandal.  It  is  equally  surprising  that  the  spotlight  of  scrutiny  was  not  beamed  on  Kenya  National  Congress  leader  Peter  Kenneth  over  his  alleged  financial  improprieties  while  at  the  helm  of  both  the  KFF  and  Kenya-­‐Re.  

Further,  we   respectfully   submit   that  Martha   Karua’s  moral   standing   and   self-­‐declared   commitment   to  family  values  should  have  been  scrutinized  and  weighed  against  allegations  of  moral  impropriety  and  of  probity,  all  of  which  are  in  the  public  domain.  

Safina   candidate   Paul   Muite   should   not   have   been   let   off   the   hook   without   being   pressed   to   give   a  convincing   explanation   over   the   scrupulously   documented   allegations   of   him   having   received   a   Sh20  million   bribe   from   the   architect   of   the   Goldenberg   scam,   Kamlesh   Pattni,   in   the   1990s;   information  brought  into  the  public  domain  by  Pattni  himself  and  confirmed  by  a  senior  business  associate  of  Muite’s  at  the  time.  

For   fairness   to   have  prevailed   for   all   the  presidential   candidates,   Restore   and  Build  Kenya   Presidential  candidate  Professor  James  ole  Kiyiapi  should  have  been  put  on  his  defense  over  the  misappropriation  of  the  Free  Primary  and  Free  Day  Secondary  Education  funds  during  his  tenure  as  Permanent  Secretary   in  the  Ministry  of  Education.  

Unfortunately,  the  moderators  only  chose  to  introduce  the  ICC  “elephant”  and  thereby  created  a  stage  upon  which   the   other   candidates   could   gang   up   and   ruthlessly   attack  Uhuru  Kenyatta   as   if   they  were  themselves  above  both  blame  and  suspicion.  This  was  anything  but  a  level  playing  field  and  smacked  of  favoritism,  bias  and  victimization.  

What  followed  was  a  total   failure  of  moderating  and  fairness.  The  debate  spun  out  of  the  moderators’  control  to  the  extent  that  the  ICC  issue  consumed  more  than  half-­‐an-­‐hour;  while  more  pressing  issues  like  Job  Creation  and  the  Economy  received  scant  attention  

The  obsession  with  the  ICC  matter  took  so  much  time  of  the  debate  that  the  moderators  squandered  an  opportunity  to  interrogate  the  respective  manifestoes  and  question  the  candidates  on  important  aspects  of  those  documents  that  are  aimed  at  guiding  the  policies  of  the  next  government.  

We   are   also   concerned   that,   despite   earlier   agreements   about   the   choice   of   pre-­‐   and   post-­‐debate  analysts,  they  were  picked  in  total  breach  of  trust  in  this  matter,  allowing  an  analyst  openly,  serially  and  acutely  hostile  to  Kenyatta  to  form  part  of  this  important  team  as  detailed  below.  

We  have  outlined  some  of  the  fundamental  concerns  in  the  memorandum  attached  to  this  cover  that  we  feel   necessitate   an   urgent   meeting   between   the   organising   committee   and   ourselves;   where   we   can  explain  the  reasons  why  our  candidate,  Uhuru  Kenyatta,  will  not  be  participating  in  the  second  round  of  the  Presidential  Debate  scheduled  for    Monday,  25th  February,  2013.  

 

     

 

We      are  ready  to  meet  with  your  team  at  the  earliest  time  possible  to  discuss  these  issues.  

Thank  you  for  your  time  and  consideration.    

 

Yours  Faithfully,  

 

Jubilee  Presidential  Campaign  Team