Azimio Chief on Raila Odinga on Sunday, April 16, maintained that he wanted peace despite hinting at the resumption of mass action protests in the country.
Speaking at St. Stephen's ACK, Jogoo Road, Odinga countered the linking of the protests to the destruction of property and loss of lives.
He maintained that he was not immune to the effects of skirmishes that break out during the demonstrations.
"We are not madmen who relish bloodshed because we have children, wives, and fathers. We want Kenyans to unite and peacefully," Raila stated.
The Opposition leader noted that the fight was not for himself but against poverty, sickness, illiteracy, and poor governance that had undermined the progress of the country.
He added that while he was willing to have a sit down with President William Ruto, Kenya Kwanza approached the decision table with a rigid position.
"We have said that we are ready for negotiations but our opponents must come with clean hearts and put your pride aside. If you look down upon us, then we will look down upon you," the former Premier remarked.
Odinga defended calls to have protests run parallel with the bi-partisan parliamentary talks stating that there were many strategies to deploy to address concerns by Kenyans.
He insisted that the majority of his supporters were peaceful and pointed a blaming finger at the police who used excessive force when dealing with the protesters.
On April 13, Odinga disclosed that the police officer who was allegedly run over by a police vehicle in Kisumu on March 27 was his grandson.
He explained that he was a son to one of his nieces and that he personally helped the deceased secure a job with the National Police Service.
Earlier, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua told Raila that he was free to go back to the streets provided that he ensured that vandalism of businesses would not take place.
On his part, the Inspector General of the National Police Service Japhet Koome maintained that any protests concurrent with the bi-partisan talks were illegal.
