Opposition leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday, February 22, led his troops in the interdenominational prayer rally at the Jivanjee, Nairobi County.
Addressing thousands of his supporters, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party issued six demands failure to which President William Ruto and his government will face the music.
Among the demands, the former Prime Minister issued was the reintroduction of food and fuel subsidies brought by Rtd President Uhuru Kenyatta to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of living.
He termed as ‘reckless’ the move by the Kenya Kwanza government to remove subsidies saying that they have to be reintroduced within 14 days failure to which the opposition would lead the country to mass action.
“Withdrawal of subsidies to food and education in the middle of drought and famine was reckless and heartless. Consequently, the subsidies must be restored, the cost of basic commodities and taxes must come down in the next 14 days,
“If demands are not heeded within 14 days, we shall lead Kenyans to mass action across the country to restore sanity,” Raila stated.
The opposition chief further demanded President Ruto halt the ongoing process of reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
In its place, the ODM leader advocated for a bipartisan task force to be put in place to oversee the restructuring of the electoral body.
In his first major policy announcement, Kenya’s President William Ruto surprised the nation by scrapping a subsidy on petrol which led to an increase in the retail price to an all-time high.
Ruto said that the subsidy had failed to achieve the intended purpose of lowering the cost of living and that they were benefiting just a few people.
