Raila Odinga’s Latest message To President William Ruto
“Yesterday, we had a date with destiny that was immensely successful.
We wish to take this early opportunity to thank our supporters and patriotic Kenyans who turned out in large numbers to salvage our country. Our country and our democracy are much stronger because of the unwavering resolve of these patriotic citizens.
We also wish to express our gratitude to the media who shone a light on the demonstrations the whole day and Kenyans were able to see that it is the police who were violent and inciting violence.
Very unfortunately, during this otherwise peaceful process, many of the demonstrators got hurt and at least two innocent Kenyans were killed in cold blood by the police. We pass sincere condolences to families that lost loved ones to police brutality. We will stand with those families in all ways, including pursuing justice on behalf of their loved ones. We will ensure that all those responsible are held to account for the lives that were cut short and the pains of those who got injured.
There was an attempt on the lives of both Hon. Raila Odinga and Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka. Their cars were shot at but luckily they were unharmed.
We however remain horrified and disgusted by the response by the Police.
At a time the country is going through major security challenges in huge swathes of the country where bandits and other criminals appear to have taken charge, we were shocked that police could assemble so many personnel and so much equipment to confront peaceful protestors.
That brutality witnessed yesterday does not belong in this century. It is more disgusting because the citizens were acting within the provisions of the constitution and we had given notice of the intentions to march on Nairobi. It is impunity at its worst, but we are determined to confront it as they saw yesterday.
We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all our people who were arrested yesterday. We appeal to our supporters to show up and stand in solidarity with our compatriots who are being held wherever they are, including the courts. In this struggle, there is no big or small fighter.
The Police are clearly the last straw of “Brutal Ruto”. Ruto’s greatest aspiration is to return Kenya to the old dictatorship where he is the unquestioned tyrant controlling everyone’s life.
While we condemn Ruto’s brutality and the ruthlessness, we have come to the conclusion that our police shall never change unless we make them change. We therefore wish to make Kenyans know that we have put together a team of security and legal experts to examine the conduct and orders given by police commanders to the officers on the streets that led to the brutality meted out yesterday. We shall institute legal action against individual officers who give such orders that led to the mayhem.
In this regard, we decry the silence of the Independent Police Oversight Authority and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights on “Brutal Ruto’s misuse of the police.
We are going for individual responsibility and culpability against officers who acted against the constitution. So far, we have a case to file individual charges against Mr. Adamson Bungei, the Nairobi police chief. We will press those charges, locally and internationally. We will make Mr. Bungei and his enablers understand that the days when regimes could brutalize and butcher citizens with impunity are long gone.
However, we commend those among the police who showed restraint in their actions and showed respect for the rights of their fellow Kenyans.
We reiterate to our supporters and all patriotic Kenyans that this struggle is just starting. We are not looking back and we will not be intimidated. No retreat; No surrender.
Our issues remain as follows:
- COST OF LIVING: We will not relent until this illegitimate regime understands that the people are hurting and that their suffering must be at the centre of our priorities as a nation. We will push on until the cost of food, fuel, electricity come down.
- ELECTORAL JUSTICE: We will continue fighting the attempt to constitute a compliant electoral commission.” Brutal Ruto” must stop reconstituting the IEBC unilaterally and packing it with his puppets without the involvement of other stakeholders. At the same time, we demand that the four commissioners who were forced to resign because they differed with Chebukati on the results must be reinstated
We maintain that IEBC must open the servers and allow an independent international audit that will without doubt prove to Kenyans that “Brutal Ruto’ did not win last election. - INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT: “Brutal Ruto” must stop the ethnicization and commercialization of the public service. We will fight for as long as it takes to save this country from being ruled by cartels, elites and ethnic warlords. We are determined to lead the fight for inclusive government appointments based on merit.
- SACKING OF CIVIL SERVANTS: Ruto must stop the victimization and sacking of civil servants whose only crime is either that they served in the previous government or that they come from particular communities. This politicization of the civil service is making career civil servants be out-numbered. It is killing professionalism and destroying the once proud civil service. We must protect our Civil Servants from these ills and particularly from tribal discrimination.
Fellow Kenyans, in the second phase of our protest, and in response to public demand, we shall now hold the protests every Monday and Thursday beginning next week.
We call for the boycott of Safaricom, Kenya Commercial Bank and Radio Africa media particularly the Star Newspaper who have become enablers and facilitators of this brutal regime. These corporates have become the enemies of the people and are benefiting from the blood and tears of Kenyans,” Azimio said.
