Raila threatens to call for mass action in 14 days over high cost of living, electoral injustice

By , K24 Digital
On Wed, 22 Feb, 2023 13:51 | < 1 min read
Raila threatens to call for mass action in 14 days over high cost of living, electoral injustice
Opposition leader Raila Odinga during a prayer rally at the Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. PHOTO/Courtesy

Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government to lower prices of basic commodities and taxes failure to which the opposition will call for mass protests across the country to force the Kenya Kwanza administration to take action.

Speaking during the opposition's prayer rally at Jevanjee Gardens in Nairobi on Wednesday, Raila said high taxes imposed by the Kenya Kwanza administration have seen prices of basic commodities hit the roof.

He also attributed the high cost of living to President William Ruto's move to remove food and fuel subsidies introduced by his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta to cushion the citizenry.

Raila said the move to withdraw the subsidies in the middle of drought and famine was reckless and heartless and demanded reinstatement within two weeks.

The former Prime Minister also demanded the suspension of the ongoing exercise to recruit electoral commissioners, saying the process is flawed.

“The ongoing process of reconstituting IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) must stop immediately. A bipartisan task force must be put in place to restructure IEBC in a manner that ends its monolithic operations," Raila said.

"If these demands are not heeded within fourteen days, we shall lead Kenyans to massive mass action across the country to take their power back and restore sanity," he warned.

The opposition claims the electoral body led by former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati was used to rig him out in the last presidential election and demanded the immediate opening of the servers for audit.

"Electoral deceit must end. The (IEBC) servers must be opened and audited under the auspices of a reputable firm or organisation failure to which we shall lead people to restore their authority and voice," he added.

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