Deputy President Slams Raila’s Police Anti-Brutality Tactic
Even though they had agreed to engage in bipartisan discussions, the two leaders have persisted in exchanging verbal jabs during their public appearances.
Addressing attendees at a fundraising occasion held at ACK St. Mark’s Lokireny in Nandi Hills, Nandi County, on Saturday, August 12th, Gachagua commented that Raila’s strategy to encourage followers to remain at their residences and engage in protests from there symbolized the final effort of the opposition to regain significance.
He mentioned that due to the extensive presence of security forces throughout the nation, Raila’s group was incapable of holding street demonstrations.
The Deputy President consequently appealed to Raila to accept his loss and recognize William Ruto as the president.
“I heard Raila telling people to stay in their houses as a new means of protest. He’s saying that people won’t go to the streets because we made it that way. It’s not because he wants, it is because it has become difficult,” he stated.
“Raila said that he will restrict people from leaving their homes. The house is yours, so how can he stop you from leaving? So the mass protests are over because we have made it that way. Raila needs to come out clearly and say what he wants,” Gachagua added.
The ex-Mathira Member of Parliament clarified that a significant part of his responsibilities involves preventing the inclusion of the opposition in the government.
“My work is simple, to ensure that these people don’t get a chance in government. Recently, I flew out of the country and they made attempts to infiltrate hence I came back early. No one will disrupt the president from doing his work,” he stated.
Raila had proposed a fresh approach to demonstrations to prevent any loss of life during the maandamano. While participating in the cross-denominational prayers held at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Park in Bondo, Siaya County, he alleged that the government was targeting blameless individuals during the protests against police brutality.
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At the occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister observed that the government is actively working on reducing the expenses associated with daily life by implementing the Fertiliser Subsidy program. This initiative led to a reduction in the prices of agricultural essentials, with a 50 kg bag of farm inputs decreasing in cost from Ksh3,500 to Ksh2,500.
“Ruto informed me before leaving that I need to implement measures on Monday within the National Treasury and Ministry of Agriculture, National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to allocate sufficient funds to purchase maize from farmers, ensuring payment within 48 hours to eliminate brokers,” Gachagua detailed.
“We will have a meeting on Monday and Tuesday with the president, so by the end of the week, we will provide maize farmers with direction,” he added.
The opposing party has remained firm in its stance that the government needs to tackle five concerns in the upcoming negotiations scheduled to start on Monday, August 14th.
This comprises reducing the expenses associated with daily life, examining the 2022 electoral process, restructuring the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, implementing safeguards against meddling with political organizations, and establishing actions to avert instances of police violence.
Nevertheless, the Kenya Kwanza government has maintained its stance that the discussions must revolve around the restructuring of IEBC, the enforcement of the two-thirds gender rule in parliament, the integration of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) into the Constitution, the establishment of the leader of the opposition role, and the incorporation of the prime cabinet secretary position.
Deputy President Slams Raila’s Police Anti-Brutality Tactic
