KISII, Kenya, Mar 23 – President William Ruto has told Azimio leader Raila Odinga to stop ‘planning chaos’ and prepare for the 2027 contest.
The President, who won the August 2022 election, said he will still defeat Odinga who unsuccessfully challenged the election outcome at the Supreme Court.
“I told you during the campaigns that I would defeat the Opposition leader. And I did so, fair and square,” he said during a tour of Kisii on Thursday.
The president said demonstrations won’t change the fact that last year’s elections were conclusively determined and he was legitimately declared President of Kenya.
The President was speaking at Rigoma in Kitutu Masaba, Nyamira County, when he kicked off a three-day visit of Kisii, Nyamira and Migori counties.
Odinga led mass protests on Monday and has declared the same on Monday and Thursday next week accusing the government of failing to bring down the high cost of living. He describes Ruto as an illegitimate president while insisting that he won the election despite having been dismissed by the Supreme Court in his petition where he tabled evidence dismissed by judges as “hot air.”
Hundreds of people took to the streets in the capital Nairobi and other parts of Kenya in response to the opposition leader’s call for a day of action over the country’s severe cost of living crisis.
Kenyans are suffering from surging prices for basic necessities, as well as a sharp drop in the local shilling against the US dollar and a punishing drought that has left millions hungry.
But government operatives have dismissed Odinga’s demonstrations as more of a protest against the victory he lost to Ruto, and accused him of blackmailing the president to accommodate him in government as was the case in two previous regimes. Odinga insists he is not out for a handshake with Ruto.
The President has told Odinga to respect institutions that have been given the mandate of determining electoral matters, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Supreme Court because they fully discharged their roles.
During Monday protests, Odinga said he has evidence from a whistleblower showing that he defeated Ruto in the election.
But Ruto has dismissed him saying, “It is not the supposed invented whistleblower who decides who wins elections. The institutions that have that mandate declared me duly elected President,”
President Ruto asked the opposition to end their destructive demonstrations and give him space to transform the country.
On Monday, police fired tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators — some of whom were hurling rocks and burning tyres in street battles against officers in full riot gear.
It was the worst violence since Ruto took office six months ago after narrowly beating Odinga in an election his defeated rival claims was “stolen”.
More than 200 people were arrested, including four leaders, and a student was killed at Maseno University in western Kenya.
“Through the rule of law, the government will take robust measures to honour and respect the rights of all and demonstrate that no one is above the law by decisively combating impunity, lawlessness and disorder,” Ruto assured this week.
And he added that he has
a “duty to protect the rights of all Kenyans from all threats. I have an obligation to the business owners in various parts of the country whose premises were looted and destroyed by protesters mobilized by reckless and irresponsible politicians.”
He said he is ready to work with all elected leaders, irrespective of their political affiliations, to advance the country’s development agenda for the benefit of the people.
“The election ended and Kenyans decided who their President is. They should give me space to transform Kenya, create jobs for the youth, empower our farmers to produce more food so that we can eradicate hunger,” he said.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has warned the country’s economy will deteriorate even more unless the chaos are stopped.
He said about Sh2 billion shillings ($15 million) was lost during the Monday chaos and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has said more chaos will cripple the capital.
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