Raila Odinga plans round of rallies as President Ruto ultimatum beckons
Azimio party leader Raila Odinga joins traditional dancers in a jig during the funeral of Luo Council of Elders chairman Ker Willis Opiyo Otondi in Kisumu County on Saturday.
Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga yesterday released the next schedule of anti-government rallies that overlap his deadline for mass action, even as it emerged that the opposition resistance could also incorporate boycotts of certain products and civil disobedience.
The new set of rallies is set to resume on Friday and stretch to Monday next week, with the latest schedule making no reference to the planned mass action due on Thursday, a day after the lapse of his 14-day ultimatum to President William Ruto.
Mr Odinga had on February 22 given President Ruto 14 days to open 2022 election servers and address the runaway cost of living, but the problems persist, with the Head of State’s latest declaration that there is no constitutional demand on him to open electoral servers.
The rallies, according to the opposition’s itinerary will resume on Friday, March 10 in Migori County before Mr Odinga leads the Azimio brigade to Narok County the following day on Saturday, March 11. On Sunday, March 12, the team will pitch tent for a mega rally in Mombasa and head to Kilifi County on Monday March 13. On Saturday, Mr Odinga promised to make a major announcement on his next political move on Thursday this week, the day his mass action plan was set to begin.
Yesterday, Nation established that Mr Odinga is set to launch a multifaceted roadmap on his mass action plan on Thursday, which could include boycott of products from companies that backed President Ruto’s “unlawful usurpation of state power”, tax boycott, civil disobedience and street protests.
Should the opposition go that way, it will begin outreach programmes to tell their supporters about the alternative products.
National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi, however, asked Kenyans to be patient and wait for the launch of the mass action roadmap by Mr Odinga at the expiry of his 14-day notice.
When asked whether their planned mass action would proceed alongside nationwide rallies dubbed people’s barazas, Mr Wandayi said: “We have the capacity to scale the stairs as we
chew gum.”
“The two, rallies and mass action, are not mutually exclusive,” Mr Wandayi told Nation.
Mr Odinga, while calling on his supporters to be ready to reclaim their stolen victory when the time comes, said that the expiry of the 14-day ultimatum on Wednesday will culminate in a declaration that will “change the trajectory of this country”.
