Azimio la Umoja under party leader, Raila Odinga, on Thursday, April 13, stated that he would announce the date for the resumption of protests immediately after the Ramadhan festivity.
While addressing his supporters at Ufangamano House, Raila, warned that Azimio had not yet agreed to be part of the negotiations, arguing that the government would not bulldoze them.
"Do we agree that mass action and negotiations should go hand in hand?" Raila asked the Ufungamano crowd.
"Immediately after the Ramadhan, I will announce when the countrywide mass actions will return," Raila assured, adding that the negotiations will go hand in hand with the protests.
Odinga was pressured to resume countrywide mass action due to a lack of seriousness by President William Ruto in addressing opposition grievances.
While addressing multi-sectoral groups at Ufungamano, Nairobi, Suba Churchill, a member of the civil society, wanted the mass action to resume immediately after the Ramadhan festivity.
High cost of living
Azimio and its supporters agreed that bringing down the cost of Unga, Electricity, Fuel, and other essential commodities remained a non-negotiable demand of the people of Kenya. It must be a priority area of discussion in any negotiations.
National Dialogue Process
It was agreed that it was critical to have a credible, inclusive, independent, and participatory National Dialogue Process that represents different shades of the opinion of the Kenyan people.
"It is a constitutional imperative to ensure the meaningful participation of the people of Kenya in the National Dialogue," part of the resolution stated.
Values and Principles for National Dialogue
Azimio underlined that the values and principles of the National Dialogue framework shall include respect for the ethos, values, and the constitution of Kenya, including the sovereignty of the people, Supremacy of the constitution, participation of the people, respect of human rights, equality and equity, dignity, utmost good faith, commitment to finding genuine solutions to urgent problems facing the people of Kenya, stewardship, and consensus building.
On the Subject Matters of the National Dialogue
Azimio stated that Kenya Kwanza and the opposition will present concerns for the National Dialogue. No party shall have a veto power on the thematic concerns and/or the right to oppose a proposed thematic concern from another party.
On the membership of the National Dialogue
Kenya Kwanza and Azimio each nominated seven members to form the 14-member committee handling the mediation. Nonetheless, Azimio added that each party shall at any time have the power to recall any of its members and appoint a new one, with decisions made through consensus and based on the principle of equality.
