Democracy on trial? Here's Raila Odinga on Head to Head With Mehdi Hasan
Raila Odinga is a legendary opposition figure, former Prime Minister of Kenya (2008-2013) and a 2017 Presidential hopeful. For some he is a hero of democracy and the best president Kenya never had, while others consider him dangerous and divisive.
Joining the discussion were:
-Nic Cheeseman, professor of African politics at the African Studies Centre of Oxford University, and author of Democracy in Africa.
-Agnes Gitau, adviser on trade and investment for East Africa and commentator.
-Parselelo Kantai, a Kenyan investigative journalist and editor of The New African.
The Opposition leader and former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said that he will not participate in elections next year if the country's electoral commission is not reformed.
Odinga told Al Jazeera's Head to Head in an interview that he was worried about the potential for violence to break out during the poll, adding that there would be "no reason for us to participate" if the commission was not overhauled.
Police fired tear gas at Odinga and other opposition members when they marched on the commission in the capital Nairobi last month in a protest calling for it to be dissolved.
Topics discussed were;
1. Elections.
2. Violence.
3. International Criminal Court (ICC)
4. Corruption.
5. War in Somalia against Al-Shabab.
Raila Odinga on Al Jazeera criticised the Kenyan government for what he called an "intolerable amount of interference" in the case, and the African Union for having a "hypocritical relationship" with the court, from which it has previously threatened to withdraw.
"The AU have not been honest with themselves because they are saying that ICC targets African leaders, and I’ve said it’s hogwash … Most of the African leaders who were before the ICC have been referred there by Africans themselves," he said.
Below is Raila Odinga's interview courtesy of Al Jazeera
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