Azimio leader Raila Odinga has vowed to go on with his planned anti-government demos on Tuesday saying he will lead protesters to President William Ruto’s Harambee House office.
Raila has insisted that Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition party will proceed with the planned and ignore the police position that the gathering and protests were not permitted.
In a statement released on Sunday, he said the opposition was exercising its right in the constitutional to assemble, protest and petition public authorities in peace while unarmed.
Raila says they will present a petition to Ruto’s Harambee House office with proof that the cost of food, fuel, electricity and school fees remain “unacceptably high” for most Kenyans.
The former Premier said Azimio will also petition the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to demand an audit of the results of the August 9, 2022 General Election.
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“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,” said Raila.
Another petition will be presented to the National Treasury demanding all funds owed to the 47 counties to be immediately released together with delayed salaries of civil servants.
The last petition will be presented by the Azimio brigade to the Public Service Commission (PSC) demanding an end to the alleged consideration of tribe in the hiring of public servants.
“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,” Raila stated.
He added, “We cannot have a country of close to 50 tribes where appointments go only to members of one tribe.”
This comes a day after the Head of State warned the opposition Azimio leaders against anarchy or destruction of property during the planned demonstrations slated for Tuesday.
“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,” Ruto warned.
Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei had banned the Nairobi demos after being informed through a notice as required by law arguing that Azimio’s previous mass action failed the threshold of peaceful protests as outlined in Section 37 of the constitution and Section 5 of the Public Order Act.
On April 2, Raila suspended the demos on Mondays and Thursdays to pave way for bipartisan talks with Ruto but they fell out over the mode the dialogue was meant to take.
