Azimio leader Raila Odinga on Sunday called off the Monday and Thursday mass protests following deliberations with Deputy President William Ruto.
Raila’s announcement at Capitol Hill came about an hour after President William Ruto, in his address to the nation at State House, urged Odinga to call off the demos because he was ready to address some of the issues he had raised during the protests.
President William Ruto asked Raila to allow for a bipartisan parliamentary process in the recruitment of commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as one of the issues.
Among the issues the Azimio coalition has tabled are electoral justice, the high cost of living, attacks on the media, an attack on democracy, as well as the alleged ‘buying’ of of MPs.
Ruto admitted that the protests had led to the deaths of three people, including a police officer, and the injuries of 400 others.
“I urge my brother, Raila Odinga, to call off the demonstrations and to give this bipartisan approach a chance to take this country forward.”
Raila said the decision to call off the demonstrations came after wide consultations that involved religious leaders.
“William Ruto has issued what I regard as an important statement; we have met and listened to a lot of people, including religious leaders, they have implored us to give dialogue a chance,” he said.
“We acknowledge the olive branch of dialogue; this is a positive development. We agree to a balanced parliamentary proceeding co-chaired by both sides, this committee must be done immediately, including all arrests and prosecutions related to demos.”
The former Prime Minister said Azimio would not hesitate to go back to the streets if the President failed to address all the issues within a week.
“We emphasize that rights to assemble are anchored in our constitution, and we reserve our rights to call for demonstrations if there is no meaningful outcome. We will resume after one week,” he added.
Odinga said reducing the high cost of living is an irreducible minimum and asked Ruto to reintroduce subsidies that his administration removed after taking over from Uhuru Kenyatta.
Raila also emphasized that the four commissioners who faced controversy, popularly known as the Cherera 4, be reinstated.
Sam Oduor is the editor-in-chief at the Western Kenya Times who leverages the power of the Internet in telling stories that shape opinions.