ODM leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday, April 4, rejected President William Ruto’s offer to address his issues raised through the Parliament.
In a press briefing, Raila indicated that a purely based Parliamentary process could not achieve the bi-partisan agreement arrived at by the two parties.
Raila is instead pushing to have a conversation at the national level similar to that of 2008 that was led by Koffi Anan at the time of late President Mwai Kibaki.
“Our suggestion at the national level through a process kin to the 2008 National Accord. We want this process to be akin to the process that Kofi Annan led. We want it to be a people-driven process,” he said.
However, Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi said he was shocked that the former Prime Minister wanted the dialogue to be like that of 2008.
Kapseret, who is considered to be among the hardliners in Kenya’s Kwanza government suggested that Raila’s demands will not be met.
He questioned how the issues of reducing the cost of living and opening the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) servers are related to the 2008 National Accord.
As such, the youthful legislator has advised the opposition leader to resume his weekly protests because the government cannot give in to his new demands.
“I am shocked to hear Raila Odinga desperately seeking talks like the 2008 National Accord using the issues of the price of unga and opening of IEBC Kenya servers. Do these issues even relate? Heri tu mrudi Maandamano nyinyi,” Sudi said.
Earlier, UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala termed the new demands set by Raila as ‘unreasonable’ adding that they were not meant to address the issues raised but to coerce the Kenya Kwanza to share power with Azimio.
“In making these unreasonable demands, Raila Odinga has demonstrated his intention to hold the bipartisan parliamentary process as suggested by the president at ransom,” Malala said.
