The Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Amolo Odinga, has declared to all Kenyans that the weekly protests in Kenya are yet to return.
Speaking on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at Chungwa House after meeting Abagusii leaders, Raila revealed that the government, headed by President William Ruto, had turned a deaf ear to Kenyans’ plight, leaving the opposition with no alternative but to return to the streets.
Odinga also accused President Ruto of riding on the hustlers’ narrative during elections to gain the sympathy of voters who easily connected with him when he was just politicking and later abandoned the real hustlers after winning the presidency.
“This government identified themselves as hustlers who were in tune with mama mbogas, boda boda’s, and jua kalis. Why have they changed their language now?” The Azimio leader asked.
The passing of the Finance Bill 2023 and the subsequent budget for the 2023–2024 financial year is a key milestone in Ruto’s plan to stabilize the economy and lower the cost of living.
According to the State, the Finance Bill is aimed at raising funds to implement Ruto’s manifesto of touching on affordable housing, industrialization, and lowering the cost of living.
The Thursday, June 15, 2023, budget reading will mark the first time President Ruto’s administration will be running on its own budget. Currently, Kenya has been using funds allocated in the 2022–2023 financial year by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
If the former Prime Minister goes through with his threats, his announcement will mark the return of the protests two months after he called off demonstrations in line with the bipartisan talks between his team and the national government.
In the past, the weekly Kenya protests left businesses closed, property destroyed, learning institutions closed, and transport into the main city centers paralyzed. The cities that were most affected include Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa, and other major towns.
Emily Atieno, a resident of Kibera, told our reporter that she would continue to protest until the “price of cooking flour is reduced.”
Another protester, Mario Omari, said protests would continue until Ruto resigned from office.
The protests started by Azimio leader Raila Odinga came after the former Prime Minister organized a section of Kenyans to riot and demonstrate against the current government as they justified the high standards of living in Kenya, characterized by high commodity prices and the cost of survival in Kenya.
Though Raila Odinga insists that these are economically motivated protests, political analysts insist that Raila is using the current economic hardships to disorganize Kenya and undermine the leadership of his rival President William Ruto after he lost to him in the recently concluded presidential elections.
