ODM has condemned the "renewed crackdown" on NGOs and civil society groups, claiming Fazul Mahamed's board is advancing Jubilee Party interests.
Earlier on Monday, Fazul, who is executive director of the NGOs Coordination Board, banned operations of Kura Yangu Sauti Yangu and We The People.
The executive director said in a letter dated November 6 that the organisations got Sh36 million
from the George Soros Foundation.
He further accuses KYSY and We The People of opening
and operating illegal accounts with NIC and Citi banks, against section 12(4) of NGOs Coordination Act, 1990.
In a statement on Monday, ODM national chairman John Mbadi accused the board of advancing the agenda of President Uhuru Kenyatta's party.
Mbadi (Suba South) said this is being done through intimidation or rights groups for fear they will file petitions challenging Uhuru's victory in the repeat election.
He termed the move barbaric, outdated and ill-advised and added: "Kenya has come of age and the freedoms they enjoy as embedded in the constitution must be respected by everyone including those in power."
The board has summoned
several civil society groups and non-governmental organisations over alleged involvement in illegal activities and failure to account for its finances.
The others are
Inuka Kenya, Katiba Institute andMuslims for Human Rights. Officials of the latter two have said they will not honour the summonses.
MUHURI Chief Executive Officer Hassan Abdille
hey will not be intimidated by state machinery.
"We know their fear is for us to release a report on the October 26 repeat presidential poll," he said.
Haki Yetu executive director Father Gabriel Dolan described Fazul's organisation as "childish, predictable and almost illiterate".
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"AUTOCRATIC ACTS"
Mbadi said: "ODM party stands with these organisations which have been instrumental in shaping the destiny of the country and ensure the constitution and the rule of law are adhered to by those in power.
"We condemn such autocratic acts by the Jubilee regime, which knows very well that the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta was not done in accordance with the law and will be nullified if a petition is filed."
NASA candidate Raila Odinga, who pulled out of the election for lack of reforms at IEBC, opposed Uhuru's victory and is now leading a national resistance.
The Supreme Court ordered the repeat election after Raila filed a petition against the President's win in the original August 8 vote.
AfriCoG and KHRC ended up in ugly engagements with the government after the August election but the National Council of NGOs said they were to blame because they did not comply with regulations.
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Talk has been rife that the move was orchestrated by the Jubilee administration to prevent the organisations from filing petitions to challenge election results.
The expectation had been that a
group of NGOs would file a petition at the Supreme Court challenging Uhuru's win at the October 26 repeat election.
Raila has insisted there was no election and a
new suit will put in motion another process to cancel Uhuru’s win.
He has ruled out court action as doing so "would legitimise the repeat election", as indicated by ODM CEO Norman Magaya on Sunday.
The Opposition leader has asked his followers to boycott products and services by Brookside, Safaricom and Bidco as part of its resistance.
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"RESIST JUBILEE'S DICTATORSHIP"
Activist Okiya Omtatah filed a petition for the apex court to invalidate the October 26 election for lack of adherence to constitutional provisions.
Omtatah argues that since there were no fresh nominations in line with Article 138 (8)(a), after the cancellation of the August 8 election, the elections were not valid.
Article 138 (8)(a) states: "A presidential election shall be cancelled and a new election held if no person has been nominated as a candidate before the expiry of the period set for the delivery of nominations."
On September 1, Supreme Court judges ruled that the August 8 election was null and void.
In light of the above, fresh nominations were supposed to be held before the October 26 fresh election but they did not take place.
Omtata argues in his petition papers that the repeat election was therefore invalid.
According to Article 140 of the constitution, Monday midnight is the deadline for filing a presidential petition against the president-elect as it is the seventh day after he was declared winner.
ODM claims this is a scenario the Jubilee administration is not prepared to endure and is therefore using the NGOs board to frustrate civil society groups and other organisations.
"Such organisations do not exist to aid the government of the day but to be the voice of the voiceless in the society and assist the less privileged," Mbadi noted.
"It is foolhardy for the Jubilee administration to use the NGOs board as a tool to suffocate civil society groups and NGOs with the aim of forcing them to support it. We urge Kenyans to resist Jubilee's dictatorship."
Fazul was once asked to stop embarrassing the government with crackdowns on NGOs while acting Interior CS Fred Matiang'i once
ordered a 90-day suspension of the purge against AfriCOG and KHRC.