Revolution Reloaded: Azimio Sets New Protest Date
Azimio la Umoja has announced a new round of nationwide protests intended to compel President William Ruto to meet their demands, which include a reduction in the cost of living.
In a statement read by the former governor of Murang’a County, Mwangi wa Iria, Azimio la Umoja stated that, unlike this week, the opposition will conduct protests one day per week in the future. The next anti-government demonstrations are scheduled for Wednesday, July 26, 2023.
The coalition urged their supporters and the general populace to demonstrate against the state in large numbers, promising that despite threats, every leader will join the demonstrators.
“We will be present to assure that this government listens to the voices of the people. We are aware that they plan to detain and torture us, but we will not yield,” said Wa Iria.
Azimio la Umoja observed that the price of food, fuel, and other necessities has consistently risen in recent months, straining household budgets.
The coalition demands that the government resolve the rising cost of living by taking action. In addition, they demand a decrease in taxes, subsidies on essential goods, and an increase in government expenditure on social programs.
The coalition led by Raila Odinga stated that in the most recent round of protests, innocent demonstrators were subjected to state-sanctioned police brutality, particularly in the Nyanza region, and that the beheadings witnessed in Kisumu, Migori, and Homa Bay were unjustified.
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“Similar atrocities are occurring in other areas of Nairobi, including Kibra and Mathare. In Kisumu, police officers are dragging individuals from their homes and shooting or beating them to death.
Azimio la Umoja asserted that in Migori and sections of Homa Bay, police are entering remote villages and shooting or beating people to death.
Wa Iria stated that the attacks are planned and that the individuals responsible for the destruction of protesters are trained.
They are organized under a command structure and supplied with the necessary weapons. There is stigmatization, polarization, and propaganda claiming that the community is behind the nationwide demonstrations.
“By parading armies, equipment, and weapons, the attackers work diligently to instill panic in the community. The identification of victims is based on their ethnicity. They are segregated into ghettos,” Azimio la Umoja claimed.
In Nairobi, Nakuru Mlolongo, and Makueni, non-uniformed and uniformed police allegedly fired and killed several individuals at close range.
Without providing evidence, the leader asserted that plainclothes police officers primarily shot and killed citizens, the majority of whom were going about their daily activities and others at their workplaces.
“Similar executions have taken place in Kisii, Busia, and Kericho, as well as in other parts of Kenya, to prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional right to hold peaceful demonstrations,” the statement claimed.
According to the coalition, demonstrations without police intervention typically conclude without violence or disruption.
They also condemned the police command’s decision to forcibly enter homes and excessively escalate tensions, which contributed to the loss of life.
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“We demand that the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and the Minister of the Interior Prof. Kithure Kindiki immediately remove police officers from people’s homes and residential areas, particularly now that there are no demonstrations.
“The events in Nyanza occur in the context of other equally alarming State actions. The police and hired thugs are pursuing, detaining, and shooting individuals in vehicles with foreign license plates, the Azimio la Umoja has demanded.
Revolution Reloaded: Azimio Sets New Protest Date
