Azimio la Umoja coalition leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday called on the government to commence an immediate probe into the destruction of property and robbery incidents witnessed during the Tuesday, July 2, protests.
In a presser, the former Prime Minister accused President William Ruto's administration of reluctance in dealing with the suspects who caused mayhem on Tuesday.
Odinga stated that the government had enough information about the sponsors of the ongoing demonstrations but had chosen not to take action against them.
According to him, the protests witnessed on Tuesday which involved vandalism and robbery were different from what was witnessed at the start of the protests when Gen Zs were in complete control.
While expressing his stance on the chaotic protests, Raila warned the perpetrators to halt their activities or face dire consequences.
“For thugs to hijack the protests and turn them into mayhem against innocent Kenyans amounts to a double betrayal of the youth. The bad manners have to be stopped,” Raila declared.
“People who are not the Gen Z that started the initial protests hijacked it, looted businesses, attacked innocent Kenyans and destroyed critical infrastructure.”
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader went ahead to express empathy for the families that suffered the brunt of yesterday's chaotic demonstrations.
He further condemned police brutality and urged security officers manning protests to exercise civility and accountability in handling protestors.
"Innocent people who've seen their business premises broken into, their products looted and who now face the reality of being worse off than before the protests," Raila stated.
"In the same breath, we condemn the scenes people witnessed. We saw on our television and experienced in their neighbourhood across the country, in the hands of criminals posing as protesters."
Raila's remarks come barely a day after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki put on notice criminal gangs posing as peaceful protestors with intentions of invading public and private property.
In a press statement, CS Kindiki warned that security agencies were on high alert to intercept and thwart any attempt to harm the public and attack critical infrastructure.
