Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga says the opposition’s planned anti-government protests will take place on Tuesday despite police refusal to allow them.
Odinga said in a statement on Sunday that the opposition is peacefully and unarmedly exercising their constitutional right to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and present petitions to public authorities.
As a result, he announced that they will present petitions to four government offices on Tuesday in an effort to pressure President William Ruto’s administration to comply with their demands.
Odinga, who has refused to concede defeat to Dr. Ruto in the August 2022 presidential election, has stated that they will present a petition to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to substantiate their claim that the election results were tampered with and to demand an audit of the electoral servers.
“We shall also petition IEBC against the sacking of the four commissioners because it presents a dangerous precedent in which in all future elections, all commissioners will be required to agree with the chairperson of IEBC, effectively making the election a one-person show,” he said.
He announced that they will also present a petition to the Office of the President “proving that the cost of food, fuel, electricity and fees remain unacceptably high.”
“We will further petition OP to desist from invading and destroying rival political parties as was attempted on Jubilee headquarters and through the auction of MPs in Parliament,” he added.
According to Odinga, they will also go to the National Treasury to request the immediate release of all funds owed to counties as well as the timely payment of all civil servants’ salaries.
“We plan to visit the Public Service Commission on the day to demand that appointments to public offices be done purely on the basis of merit and inclusivity, not tribe as is presently the case. We cannot have a country of close to 50 tribes where appointments go only to members of one tribe,” Odinga’s statement further read.
“We shall not agree to be cowed into silence when so many things are going wrong in the country; with cults that enjoy patronage and protection from State House killing Kenyans, including children, in their hundreds, goons hired by the state invading and destroying private property, massive corruption making a grand return to the country and tribalism taking an unprecedented sway in public offices,” he added.
Despite Azimio’s notice informing the police of their plan to take to the streets, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei stated on Sunday that protests will not be permitted in the capital.
He claimed that previous demonstrations by the opposition did not demonstrate goodwill, and that they did not meet the threshold of peaceful protests stipulated in Section 37 of the constitution and Section 5 of the Public Order Act.
According to the police chief, Azimio violated Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which allows for peaceful and unarmed protests.
His announcement came a day after President Ruto warned opposition supporters against any form of lawlessness or property destruction during the dreaded Tuesday protests.
Ruto said on Saturday that while he offered Odinga the option of resolving any grievances peacefully through the proposed bipartisan parliamentary process, the opposition leader chose to stage protests instead.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there will be no demonstrations to destroy people’s property, to cause chaos, to stop people from going to work, or our children from going to school. That will not happen,” he said.
