Activist and 2027 presidential hopeful Okiya Omtatah has revealed that he deliberately tried to stop the youths from marching to State House during the Wednesday, June 25, protests.
According to Omtatah, marching to State House was an impossible mission that would have led to more deaths on a day when the youths were commemorating last year's demonstrations that left over 40 people dead.
“There was immense pressure for people to march to the State House. But I knew lives would be lost. I sat down to stop that march. We were commemorating the dead, and I didn’t want more bloodshed,” Omtatah told NTV.
The Busia Senator warned that the idea of marching to the house on the hill was not only unrealistic but also reckless.
“If people are shot, and those shooting run away, power can be taken chaotically. You don’t know what will result; we could end up jumping from the frying pan into the fire,” Omtatah warned.
According to Omtatah, it was time for Kenya to avoid the path of violent uprisings like the protests and instead focus on the ballot in the 2027 General Election. Omatath warned that if the situation continues, Kenya might end up like Sudan.
“Kenya should avoid an uprising. We should have a revolution. This anger must be channelled to a revolution, not to an uprising. Because the danger of an uprising is that it’s chaos. Organised groups can take state power, and you can see where Sudan is,” Omtatah warned.
Omtatah argues that the only possible way out for Kenya at this juncture is through the ballot box. He called on Gen Z and other protestors to shift their energy toward registering to vote and actively participating in the elections.
“Right now, what we want is to get people registered. We want to come up with voters and come up with candidates. And engineer a revolution that is geared towards full implementation of the constitution,” Omtatah explained.
On his candidature, Omtatah revealed that surveys so far show he is a possible candidate, with the main challenge only being in Kisii, where they prefer Fred Matiang'i as their candidate.
Speaking on a possible alliance with former Chief Justice David Maraga, Omtatah said it was not plausible yet as he was still weighing the temperatures and agendas of the different people showing interest in the seat.
Barely a week ago, former CJ Maraga announced that he will be contending for the presidential seat in 2027.
