Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader, Raila Odinga, has issued a 14-day ultimatum to President William Ruto’s administration to act fast and lower the cost of living.
If the government does not heed Azimio's warning, he has threatened to organize a countrywide protest against the high cost of living and the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Raila made the declaration on Wednesday during the Azimio National Prayer Day rally, which took place at Nairobi’s Jeevanjee Gardens.
The ODM leader, in his speech to members of the public who attended the prayer rally, suggested Kenyans were growing tired of waiting on President William Ruto’s administration's pledge to lower the high cost of living.
He decried the withdrawal of subsidies to food and education that cushioned Kenyans from the harsh effects of economic hardships.
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“We have been talking about the rising cost of basic commodities like unga, electricity, diesel, petrol, paraffin, sugar, milk, among others for far too long. We have complained about rising taxes, and we have lately talked about children dropping out of school for lack of fees,” Raila said.
“Withdrawal of subsidies to food and education in the middle of drought and famine was reckless and heartless. Consequently, the subsidies must be restored, the cost of basic commodities and taxes must come down in the next 14 days.”
In the same breath, Raila asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to open its servers to independent auditors failure to which, Azimio will also lead its people to action.
“Electoral deceit must end. Servers must be opened and audited under auspices of a reputable firm or organisation, failure to which, we shall lead people to restore their authority and voice,” Raila said.
Concerning the ongoing IEBC reconstitution process, Raila said it must be stopped immediately and a nonpartisan task force installed to complete the work.
Raila also threatened to call for a massive countrywide mass action if the demand was not met in the same fourteen days.
“The ongoing process of reconstituting IEBC must stop immediately. A bipartisan task force must be put in place to restructure IEBC in a manner that ends its monolithic operations. If these demands are not heeded within 14 days, we shall lead Kenyans to massive mass action across the country to take their power back and restore sanity,” Raila said.