Bring it on: Raila Odinga declares mass action but Ruto calls it bluff

Azimio party leader Raila Odinga addressing a crowd at the Jevanjee Gardens in Nairobi during the Azimio prayer rally on February 22, 2023. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard] Opposition leader Raila Odinga has threatened countrywide mass action if measures to tame the runaway cost of living are not implemented in the next 14 days. A threat President William Ruto laughed off saying he will not be intimidated with threats of mass action and protests. Raila, who spoke during a prayer rally at the Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi yesterday, also wants ongoing reconstitution of the electoral commission stopped, calling for a "bi-partisan taskforce" to restructure the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). These were among the key demands issued by the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition in the latest series of countrywide rallies aimed at piling pressure on the government to act on the cost of living and force electoral reforms. However, while presiding over the Nairobi River Regeneration Committee, Ruto brushed off the ultimatum: "Our plan is to ensure Kenya moves forward. I want to tell those people that they had five years of the handshake and other things. The price of Unga reached Sh230 and now we have lowered it to Sh180. They should give us time and we will take it to Sh120." The President added: "They had their chance and wasted it. Those people left us with numerous debts that nearly sank the country and now we have begun reducing those debts." "They want to threaten us with demonstrations. They will do the demonstrations till they get tired. Kenya will be a country run on the basis of the rule of law and constitution," he said. The Azimio leader wants subsidies on prices of basic commodities restored and taxes lowered within 14 days, terming Ruto's withdrawal of subsidies on unga, electricity and fuel "reckless and heartless". "We have been talking about the rising cost of basic commodities like unga, electricity, diesel, petrol, paraffin, sugar, (and) 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," he read a statement amid chants of "Ruto must go!" Electoral deceit "Electoral deceit must end. Servers must be opened and audited under the auspices of a reputable firm or organisation, failure to which we shall lead people to restore their authority and voice..." "If these demands are not heeded within fourteen days, we shall lead Kenyans to massive mass action across the country to take their power back and restore sanity," Raila went on. However, President Ruto said he will not allow anybody to threaten other Kenyans observing that all citizens had a right to be in their own country. " As the President, I will make sure that we banish impunity. Everybody must respect the rule of law and the constitution. Nobody is going to threaten Kenyans" added the president. Earlier, the former prime minister had hinted at a return to street protests, saying that Kenyans had had enough of Ruto's government, which he accused of regressing to the era of human rights violations. "Kenyans are coming for you!" Raila said as the public address system belted out Juliani's 'Utawala', a song that rallied Kenyans to stand against corrupt governance. He criticised Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over his remarks that the government is "a company with shareholders", stating that they threatened to sow ethnic discord among Kenyans and legitimise marginalisation. "They are hypocrites. They go to church every Sunday, claiming to be God-fearing but their deeds expose them... They are now saying that Kenya is a company with shareholders... They don't recognise the mwananchi who has no share. "The Azimio government will treat all Kenyans of all races, creed and ethnicity equally because all Kenyans are equal in spite of how they voted and have the right to access government services," Raila added. The Azimio leader faulted the arrest of comedian Eric Omondi, who on Tuesday led a demonstration outside Parliament against the high cost of living, stating that such freedoms were guaranteed in the constitution, citing protests in the UK and the US that happen outside their respective parliaments. Raila also criticised the summons issued to lawyer Danstan Omari regarding his statements on an alleged raid at former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i's Nairobi home. Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua said Kenyans should be ready to pay the price for meaningful reforms. "It is extremely criminal to reverse subsidies that would ease the burden of the cost of living... Are you ready to pay the price? Will you let evil prevail? I am ready to pay the price," she said. Mass action Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka termed the looming mass action "a struggle like no other". "We are not corrupt. We don't believe Kenya is anyone's company. Kenya is our motherland," he said, with his Democratic Action Party-Kenya counterpart Eugene Wamalwa likening Gachagua's remarks to the colonial days that saw British imperialists declare Kenya the Imperial British East Africa Company. Former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya lamented that Kenya was headed in the wrong direction, with Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina warning that the cost of living would soon rise higher with adverse impact on businesses. This will not be the first time Raila has called for mass action, doing so in the wake of the contested presidential election of 2007. The Azimio leader has also used street protests to push for changes in the IEBC. Such protests, in the wake of the 2013 elections, resulted in the eventual resignation of former IEBC chairperson Issack Hassan in 2016. Similar protests were unsuccessful in forcing the exit of Wafula Chebukati, who retired as the IEBC chair last month. Unable to ignore the continued rallies against his presidency at the start of his second term, former President Uhuru Kenyatta was forced to reach out to Raila, with whom he would establish cooperation that resulted in Uhuru endorsing Raila's presidential bid in last year's elections. Ruto has, however, insisted that he would not reach such an agreement with Raila, saying he was not bothered by his rallies. "They have a democratic right to hold their rallies... They don't stop me from doing my work as president," Ruto told trade unionists at State House last week. Additional Reporting by Judah Ben-hur

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