In the end they swore allegiance, but there were variations on what or who they swore allegiance to. Raila Odinga swore allegiance to the country of Kenya, and Najib Balala swore his allegiance to the presidency, rather than the president.
PNU Mps, arrived in parliament pretty early, as they were aware that ODM were going to sit on the government side, and did not want this to happen.
There were a number of events that took place that broke tradition, which put PNU backs up.
- Najib Balala announced to his fellow ODM members when Raila walked into the house "I give you the President" to which ODM members stood up, and applauded, when Raila Odinga entered the house, they remained seated when Mwai Kibaki entered.
- Some ODM members refused to swear allegiance to the president initially, and then either chose not to use the word president, or included something else in the oath, as I have pointed out above.
- ODM members were not voting by secret ballot, and showed their colleagues how they voted. The thinking behind this, was that they had voted secretly during the election, and their votes had been stolen, which was pointed out by William Ruto.
- Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki did not acknowledge each other during the session.
I watched Martha Karua on some of the video clips, and it was clear to me, that her anger levels were high. It seems that PNU were belittled in parliament yesterday.
Considering what ODM have gone through, yesterday gave some Kenyans light relief. I hope that violence is reduced, as a result of yesterday's events.
ODM have strength in numbers, and have an opportunity to pass laws, which will give some Kenyans a chance to see what they are made of.
I have a hunch that Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki is not in for an easy ride, having watched events in Parliament yesterday.
Police have clashed with protesters today.
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