Raila Odinga apologises for ‘madoadoa’ remarks, explains context

The Azimio la Umoja presidential aspirant Raila Odinga has apologised for his use of the ‘madoadoa’ remark during a rally in Wajir on Wednesday.

Raila was addressing a mammoth crowd on Friday at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium (Mamboleo) in Kisumu.

He explained he meant Wajir people should not elect leaders who are not pro-Azimio la Umoja 

“We recently were in Wajir and I spoke there. I used the term ‘madoadoa’ and said even here in Wajir there are no ‘madoadoa’. What I meant for example was here in Kisumu there are no ‘madoadoa’,” Raila said.

Raila said when they were in Wajir all the candidates who attended the rally were pro-Azimio and he was commending them.

“Recently we were in Wajir and all the candidates who came were pro-Azimio and they declared Wajir and Azimio zone and I stood and commended them. I said Wajir is an Azimio zone there are no ‘madoadoa’. I did not mean we do not want any other tribe in Wajir,” he explained. 

The ODM leader apologised profusely for the misunderstanding that came out as a result of the use of the term ‘madoadoa’.

“Therefore, if there is anyone who did not understand we well and had seen any fault, I would like to say I am so sorry,” Raila apologised.

He said their outfit cannot discriminate against anyone along tribal lines.

"We cannot discriminate against anyone along tribal lines," Raila said.

Raila pointed out the difference in context between the term ‘madoadoa’ that was used in Eldoret and what he meant in Wajir.

"The ‘madoadoa’ I applied in Wajir differs totally from the one which was used in Eldoret because they said that Indians should go back to their home in Punjab, but I meant that in Wajir there was no other party," Raila said.

This comes after the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) had summoned the former premier to go explain the context in which he used the term ‘madoadoa’.