Opposition leader Raila Odinga has threatened to lead peaceful mass protests against President William Ruto.
The protests which are scheduled to officially kick off on Monday, June 20, are expected to involve company boycotts, strikes, and sit-ins in government offices.
This comes after the lapse of the 14-day ultimatum, which the ODM leader had issued to President William Ruto to address the cost of living, open the 2022 presidential election servers and stop the process of appointing new members of the electoral agency, IEBC.
However, speaking at State House in Nairobi on Wednesday, March 15, the president asked Raila to guarantee Kenyans that his Monday, March 20, anti-government protests will be peaceful.
Ruto said for over 50 years, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga has never held a peaceful protest.
“(Raila) Odinga has been holding bloody and chaotic demonstrations for the last 50 years; he needs to assure Kenyans that this will be different,” the president said.
Ruto asked the opposition leader to liaise with security personnel to guarantee Kenyans that none of the Kenyans will be injured nor lose their lives.
“This is why we’ve told Raila Odinga to sit down with police and explain to them how the demonstrations will be peaceful,” the President added.
While assuring Kenyans not to worry about Raila’s threats, the Head of State assured Kenyans that they have nothing to worry about over threats by leaders to hold countrywide demonstrations next week.
President Ruto said Kenya is a country governed by the rule of law and no one was above the law.
“The government will not allow loss of life, destruction of property, and looting. We will not allow a few individuals who have refused to accept election results to cause chaos,” he added.
