The African Union (AU) has called for a dialogue between President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga to end the ongoing anti-government protests.
This was after the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party chief Raila Odinga on Monday, March 27, led thousands of his troops to protests against President William Ruto.
In a statement, AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat expressed the ongoing anti-government protests as a “deep concern”.
Faki, said the ongoing demonstrations have led to deaths and what he called interruption of certain economic activities in Nairobi and other cities in the country where the former Prime Minister’s allies were protesting.
“The Chairperson urges all stakeholders to exercise calm and engage in dialogue to address any differences that may exist in the supreme interest of national unity and reconciliation,” Faki said.
The commission further reiterated that August 9, 2022, General Election in Kenya followed lawful procedure and that President Ruto’s administration was legitimately set up.
“The chairperson wishes to recall the successful conduct of [the] General Election in August 2022 in Kenya and the subsequent unanimous confirmation of the election outcome by the Supreme Court,” he said.
Raila who has maintained that the protests will go on until President Ruto gives in to his demands claims that the Head of State is illegitimately in power.
Raila claims that he won the August 2022 presidential elections and that William Ruto is just a president in an acting capacity.
As such, Raila wants the president to expedite the opening of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ascertain who won the 2022 presidential elections.
He further wants William Ruto to bring down the cost of living as promised during the 2022 presidential election campaign.
Both the opposition leader and the Head of State have maintained hard stance that they will not participate in a handshake.
