If True, Raila’s Plan To Form A Parallel Government Unlikely To Bear Fruits

By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga

Worth Noting:

• We agree that Article 37 of the constitution allows people to assemble, demonstrate, to picket and present petitions to public authorities.
• However, we want Raila to bear this in mind. The same law states the protest should be done peaceful and the safety and rights of those not participating must be respected and upheld.
• This showed the NPS was walking the talk in terms of ensuring the officers adhered the provisions of the new constitution and Code of Conduct.
• Besides, it seems the International Criminal Court trials taught them a big a lesson. Then Inspector General of Police Mohamed Ali was among those charged.

As Raila led the street demonstrations which he had dubbed ‘the mother of all protest’, he left no doubt that his battle with President William Ruto was far from over.

After his convoy was stopped from accessing the Central Business District (CBD) and State House which is a protected area and one can only access it with an appointment, Raila opted to take his campaign of defiance to highly populated slums of Nairobi.

In all the stopovers, Raila spoke from the sun-roof of his vehicle. He never walked on foot.

But as it turned out, it was not all smooth sailing for him.

In some slums, he endured cold reception and shouts of ‘Ruto’, ‘Ruto’, ‘Ruto’ rent the air. In Kamukunji area, he was forced to cut short his speech.

In the eve of these protests, President Ruto, his deputy, their allies and supporters repeatedly warned Raila that he would take full responsibility if the demonstrations turn chaotic and bloody.

Contrary to the impression he has created, Raila has never organized peaceful protests.

We agree that Article 37 of the constitution allows people to assemble, demonstrate, to picket and present petitions to public authorities.

However, we want Raila to bear this in mind. The same law states the protest should be done peaceful and the safety and rights of those not participating must be respected and upheld.

The prediction of Kenya Kwanza came to pass.

Incidents of chaos, destruction of properties bloody scenes were not only witnessed in Nairobi but also in Kisumu.

In the lake side of Kisumu, a student from Maseno University was shot dead.

According to media reports (Citizen TV), the National Police Service (NPS) confirmed the incident and admitted he was killed by a police officer.

Yes, it is painful to loss a child after investing a huge chunk of money to his or her education.

Allow me to however say this. This time, the police restrained themselves.

They never used the excessive force as it used to happen during the demonstrations held during the reigns of previous regimes, particularly during the era of President Daniel Arap Moi.

Apart from this unfortunate incident, no other fatal case was reported.

This showed the NPS was walking the talk in terms of ensuring the officers adhered the provisions of the new constitution and Code of Conduct.

Besides, it seems the International Criminal Court trials taught them a big a lesson. Then Inspector General of Police Mohamed Ali was among those charged.

The going was tough for him before the charges leveled against him and his co-accused was dropped.

Notably, besides Kenya the demonstrations were being held simultineously in other five countries in Africa.

If you do a comparison with Raila’s, the demands in other countries were weighty.

In South Africa, four people were killed.

Raila has listed three demands. One, President Ruto should reduce the high cost of living.

As we know, this situation is triggered by a number of factors. Drought and famine, Russian-Ukraine, and the fact the world has not yet recovered from devastating effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

President Ruto and his deputy had also stated they inherited empty public coffers.

To them, the handshake duo of then-President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio leader Raila Odinga were to be blamed.

Raila’s three other demands are: Ruto should open the 2022 presidential election servers and order immediate reinstatement of ‘Cherera four’ and stop the process of recruitment of the new IEBC chairman and commissioners.

We know the president’s decisions on these matters were informed by law.

Well, addressing slum dwellers, Raila stated. What we have done today is a rehearsal. These protests will continue and we shall be demonstrating every Thursday and Monday.

This is until when President Ruto will address our demands.

Bearing in mind that Raila’s pledge of peaceful demonstrations was a just a lie, we are now waiting to see how government will respond to threat posed by Raila’s game plan.

Kenya is not a banana republic. It is a country governed by the rule of law and constitution.

Peace and stability of Kenyan people come first.

To re-enforce this commitment, President Ruto has been reiterating.

I took the oath of office to defend, protect and uphold the Constitution of the republic of Kenya. So, my main calling is to protect the lives of Kenyans and thier properties.

So, take it from me. We will not allow Raila and his brigade to disrupt peace and derail our development agenda.

We will shall stop him and we will follow the law.

According to the current issue of the Weekly Newspaper, The Weekly Citizen, Raila is planning to form a parallel government and it will be unveiled soon after being sworn in as People’s President on Madaraka Day to marked on June 1.

The leader of the Roots party Wajackoyah will preside over the swearing in and thereafter Raila, the president of People’s Republic of Kenya, will head to his office at Capitol Hill which will serve as State House.

The members of youth movement dubbed Movement for Defense of Democracy (MDD) he unveiled recently will guard cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and other top officials of his ‘government’.

This is not the first time Raila is using this strategy to force the new president to share the government with him.

In 2007, he forced President Mwai Kibaki to cave in and this led to creation of the position of Prime Minister for him and unveiling of ‘Nusu mkate’ government.

He used a similar script to arm-twist President Uhuru Kenyatta and this led to birth of ‘handshake’.

Will he succeed this time round? The time will tell.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi

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About the Author

Joseph Mutua Ndonga

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a Writer and Political Analyst based in Nairobi

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