Friday’s anti-government rallies in Nairobi and other regions of the country are expected to result in a confrontation between police and Azimio La Umoja One Kenya party members.
Raila Odinga, the head of the Azimio opposition alliance, has pledged to organise a sizable assembly in Nairobi at the Kamukunji Grounds to celebrate the “Third Liberation” of the nation on Saba Saba Day.
Odinga has threatened to launch an uprising of “defiance and civil disobedience” against the present administration of President William Ruto, which he has criticised for being repressive against the populace, at Kamukunji grounds.
The Azimio alliance previously said that it will start gathering a large number of signatures today to “signal an end of their autonomy from officials associated with this fraudulent administration, including Mr. William Ruto and all elected leaders who endorsed the Finance Bill 2023.”
Police have advised against the Azimio-associated leaders and their followers staging a march from Kamukunji grounds to the Nairobi CBD.
Adamson Bungei, the commander of the Nairobi Regional Police, announced on Thursday that no gatherings would be permitted outside the Kamukunji grounds.
The Nation cited Bungei as saying, “We have only authorised the Kamukunji assembly, and we are not going to permit any other assembly anywhere else.”
The former prime minister of Kenya has pleaded with people to support his effort to oppose what he calls “dictatorship” and repudiate recently enacted levies, which he said had made Kenyans’ lives intolerably difficult.
“We have to confront a tyrant who likewise has no regard for Wananchi; it has become evident. He said last week that Ruto had turned into a ruthless dictator.”
“As humans, we are not expected to endure suffering in silence; we do not bow down to dictators and implore them for compassion. We struggle because even the few who do still experience humiliation and even death! Let’s move forward with a firm resolve to stick with each other and cooperate.”
The majority of the city’s neighbourhoods, including Kamukunji grounds, where the Saba Saba demonstration is planned to take place, were peaceful on Friday morning.
However, even if the majority of the city’s businesses are still closed, security reinforcement has been stepped up in regions thought to be concentrations of the opposition.