President William Ruto has vowed that there will be no protests during the coming week.
Speaking during a roadside rally in Naivasha, Nakuru county President Ruto said that the opposition was using protests to disrupt economic activities and blackmail the government.
The head of state added that using extrajudicial and extra-constitutional means to seek power is unacceptable and urged Odinga to wait for the next elections in 2027.
“You can’t use extra-constitutional means to get power. You want to use violence to get into government; it won’t happen,” he said.
He also declared that there will be no handshake, referring to the previous political agreement between Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga that he believes has harmed Kenya.
“No demonstration is going to take place on Wednesday. It is not possible, this man (Raila Odinga)has brought chaos to this country which has led to many deaths. He kept on interfering with Mwai Kibaki’s administration, Uhuru Kenyatta’s and now the other day he led protests and properties were destroyed,” Ruto said.
He challenged that the path the opposition had taken would not help the country and if they maintain that path, he would deal with them.
“That path that you are taking, I want to assure you that I am going to take you on and I will not allow it to happen.”
President Ruto’s remarks followed a declaration by the Azimio la Umoja coalition party that they would intensify their anti-government protests to three times a week.
In a statement shared on July 14, Azimio said the planned demonstrations slated for Wednesday, July 19 would still happen and added two more dates.
“Going forward, the peaceful protests will now be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week, in line with requests from the public to include three days of activity,” the statement concluded.
Anti-government protests erupted over the past week, with demonstrators taking to the streets to protest against rising taxes and the high cost of living.
