By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- In recent demo, they escalated the orgy of violence and destruction. At least 9 people lost their lives. The government installations were also not spared. A government office and a national flag were set ablaze. The flag had been hoisted. A goon climbed the pole and pulled it down then burnt it. Report indicated he was among those lost who died.
- The newly constructed Nairobi Expressway was also vandalized and destroyed, causing a damage worth Sh700 million.
- They also used machetes to break into a Supermarket and stole all goods and money. The money vaults were turned upside down.
Azimio La Umoja-OKA Party leader Raila Odinga has announced that the third wave of anti-government protests across the country will proceed as planned.
This is despite the top state officials led by President William Ruto vowing that they will not allow the demonstrations to take place.
As we know, Raila’s previous protests have always turned chaotic and bloody. This means when he avers that the demos will be peaceful and held in full compliance with the provisions of constitution, this is just a political ploy. He means the opposite of this.
One can therefore understand where President Ruto is coming from when he reiterates.Β I took the oath of office to protect the lives of Kenyans and their property and this is my core function as spelt out in the constitution.
He would use this as the basis of defending his decision that he was not violating any law.
It is true that Article 37 of the constitution allows Kenyans to exercise freedom of assembly, expression, demonstration and picketing. The same Article, however, emphasis that these activities should be held within an environment that is peaceful and non-violent. So, those participating- organisers and their supporters-must be unarmed.
In Raila’s demos, the picture is totally different. Some of the protestors were always armed to the teeth.
The video clips taken by the mainstream media and social media would attest to this.
In recent demo, they escalated the orgy of violence and destruction. At least 9 people lost their lives. The government installations were also not spared. A government office and a national flag were set ablaze. The flag had been hoisted. A goon climbed the pole and pulled it down then burnt it. Report indicated he was among those lost who died.
The newly constructed Nairobi Expressway was also vandalized and destroyed, causing a damage worth Sh700 million.
They also used machetes to break into a Supermarket and stole all goods and money. The money vaults were turned upside down.
One may ask. Where were the anti-riot police? Well, we saw them engaging the protesters in running battles.
But as it turned out, they were dealing with hardcore criminals who were ready to pay the ultimate price. Some reports indicated a good number of them had been hired and had allegedly been given clear instructions that Baba wanted to see them cause a heavy damage to our economy.
A report released by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KPSA) showed that the business community was losing Sh3 billion every day when the demonstration was held.
For Baba Raila, many believed that he had come to this conclusion. President William Ruto is a big-headed and a hard nut to crack. So, Raila had only option and this is to do a total economic sabotage.
He hoped this will force Dr Ruto to climb down, invite and engage him on a one-on-one talk.
Once the talks are concluded and Raila have his way, he would emerge and tell the country that we have reached ‘a ceasefire’.
He will also climb down from his earlier hardline stance and now recognize Ruto as the President of Kenya.
For those well conversant with the history of Raila, I’m sure they would agree with me. He had previously played a similar script.
In 2007, he forced President Mwai Kibaki to share the government with him on 50-50 basis.
In 2017, he forced President Uhuru Kenyatta to shake hand with him.
Given this scenerio, I would agree with President Ruto.Β Raila developed a bad habit and ‘I will not allow this to continue anymore’.
Raila lost the election. He should accept this bitter truth and move on.
This is my advise to him. He should stick to his role as an opposition leader.
I’m ready to facilitate the work of his office because I believe in a strong, vibrant and robust opposition that will put my government in checks.
Taking cognizant that the opposition is alternative government, the outfit ought to shun politics of bloody confrontations, malice, destruction of properties.
When we go wrong, we are ready to be corrected. We are also ready to hear the solutions they have.
This engagement should be done in a structured and constructive manner.
Equally, the opposition leaders ought to support our agenda and policies that are designed to better the lives of the citizens. Some of the achievements might not be realized immediately.
The mature opposition is supposed to support explanation given by the state rather than contradict it.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
