Raila Odinga: Azimio to hold 'prayers' outside IEBC offices
Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga (centre), Wiper chief Kalonzo Musyoka and Narc-Kenya boss Martha Karua during a political rally at Kamukunji Grounds in Nairobi on December 7.
ODM leader Raila Odinga appears to have stepped up pressure on the Kenya Kwanza government after announcing a new round of siege outside the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) offices.
In what could mark the return on the so-called teargas Thursdays that preceeded the March 2018 handshake, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader said the coalition will stage national prayers outside IEBC offices as a continuation of opposition rallies.
He said the prayers will seek to give Kenya an electoral commission that “will defend the rights of the people”.
The first round of prayers will take place next week after the planned rallies in Kisii and Kisumu on Friday and Saturday respectively.
“After we visit Kisii on Friday and Kisumu on Saturday, we will also be doing a prayer for the IEBC that we get an IEBC which will defend the rights of our people,” said Mr Odinga.
Electoral justice
“We must defend electoral justice in our country and this is what we have told our MPs to do and will continue to urge Kenyans to wake up and defend their rights,” Mr Odinga said on Wednesday as he spoke to journalists in Nairobi.
“This will not go away and this is a right which nobody can take away from us,” Mr Odinga said.
He said that they had shown beyond reasonable doubt that the August 9, 2022 elections were rigged in favour of President William Ruto, adding that they will not stop their engagements with the public until Kenyans get justice.
“It doesn’t matter how many times Mr Ruto shouts or prays, the prayer is not going to help him get away with theft of elections,” Mr Odinga charged.
Kenyans, he said, must defend electoral justice.
“People fought for a long time to bring multi party back to this country and they are not going to surrender that again and put this country back to the dark days of single party dictatorship where elections were basically manipulated,” he added.
