Prime Minister Raila Odinga has censored a section of leaders fronting for the rejection of the proposed constitution to stop war mongering in their desperate efforts to woo votes in their favour.

He singled out a retired politician whom he did not name to cease making inflammatory statements which were likely to instigate intolerance and violence during campaigns for the constitutional referendum.

The Premier asked the politicians to give the Kenyans a break and stay out the constitutional debate to allow the will of the people to prevail to facilitate harmonious coexistence among the communities in the post referendum period.

“We don’t want retired leaders scaring people with insinuations that the proposed constitution will bring bloodshed yet they failed to initiate the review process during their tenures” he said.

 Odinga who was addressing a gathering of academia during the launch of a book title ”My Journey with a Jaramogi” asked the leaders in the NO camp to peaceful conduct their campaigns to avoid confrontation between the opposing sides.

 He said the unfolding constitutional moment was unique and should not be squandered due to the fact that the top leadership in the coalition embraced the reforms the country struggled to realize over the last two decades in vain.

“It is a once in a lifetime occurrence therefore that this time round a larger portion of the political leadership is in agreement with the populace that we need to have a new constitution” the Premier said.

He told the launch that the price to protect the freedom and dignity of Kenyans was too costly as many nationalists lost their lives and careers in the liberation struggle that stretched beyond then post colonial era.

The Premier said the book written by Odinge Odera, a long serving speech writer of the first vice President Jaramogi  Ogimga Odinga captures the era of struggle between the forces for change and those for retention of status quo.

He said the author who was a close confidant of Jaramogi gives insights of a progressive movement for change whose activities were curtailed by “forces of status quo who were determined to have history written in their image.

Odinga said the book traces the detour the country made after independence and reflects on the vision which our founding fathers of the nation had before greed and ethnic ethnicity took the better part of the leadership.

Cabinet Ministers James Orengo, Otieno Kajwang and Prof Anyang Nyongo were among the notable personalities at the launch held at a Nairobi hotel last evening.