Kenya: the opposition abandons its demonstrations

Raila Ondinga announced on Sunday, April 2, 2023 the suspension of the major opposition demonstration scheduled for Monday, April 3, 2023 in Kenya.

The decision was justified by the call for dialogue launched by William Ruto, the Kenyan president.

This comes after two weeks of crisis in which three people died in demonstrations organized by the opposition, which accuses the government of inertia in the face of deteriorating living conditions in the country.

“Mr. Ruto has asked me and Azimio to enter into an open and binding constitutional dialogue with his government to find a solution to the issues we have raised in Azimio regarding last year’s elections and the major governance and cost of living issues facing our country,” said opposition leader Raila Ondinga.

But the veteran Kenyan opposition leader warns: “We reserve the right to call for demonstrations if this process does not bear fruit. If there is no meaningful engagement or response from Hon. Ruto to our counter-offer, we will decide to resume our demonstrations after one week.

The government and the opposition will therefore sit down together after two weeks of crisis.

The Kenyan president announced the establishment of a bipartisan parliamentary committee to study possible reforms to the electoral process and urged his rival to seize the opportunity.

But he ruled out any alliance with his opponent.