Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya leader Raila Odinga on Saturday, March 25, responded to President William Ruto's allegations that the former Prime Minister had long been misleading his supporters.
While addressing mourners in Bondo in Siaya County, Raila clarified that he was not caging his supporters but fighting for a righteous cause.
He added that Ruto's accusations were baseless, and he will not be scared by anyone for him to call off planned bi-weekly protests.
“Ruto cannot scare me. Can he really?” he posed. “I’m not a child that he can scold as he so wishes.”
“Ruto, therefore, doesn’t have any authority to lecture me on the demos,” Raila added while dressing mourners at the burial ceremony of Mzee Jerusha Odero in Bondo.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader argued that he had valid reasons to spearhead the protests, in which he invited his supporters to participate.
The Azimio la Umoja noted that his whistleblower's assertions can only be challenged and disapproved by the scrutiny of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
As such, Raila asked Ruto to ensure that IEBC servers are opened for scrutiny by Azimio la Umoja experts and other independent bodies.
He added that bi-weekly anti-government protests will continue until Kenya achieves electoral justice.
“According to an IEBC whistleblower who gave us the results, I got 8.1 million votes, while Ruto got 5.9 million votes in the 2022 presidential polls. In the same election, the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition had more governors, MPs and MCAs than the Kenya Kwanza Alliance," Raila noted.
The ODM Party Leader was also not happy with what he termed attempts by President Ruto to buy his lieutenants in the National Assembly and Senate.
“How could it be that Azimio had more elected leaders across the cadres, only to lose the presidential seat?” posed Raila in his speech during the burial.
President on Friday, March 24, told Kisii County residents that Raila had misled his followers out of government for years.
The Head of State called on the larger Nyanza people to back his government and avoid the much-hyped mass action.
However, on Saturday, March 5, he pleaded with Raila to call off the demonstrations and instead back his 2027 presidential ambitions.
"When will you ever campaign for me? Why are you holding protests against my government?" Let him return the favour and vote for me, I suffered a lot while supporting him.
"Instead of planning anti-government protests,you should prepare to vote for me," Ruto pleaded.
