You’re not unstoppable, we stopped Moi: Raila to Ruto
Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga addressing mourners during the burial service of former MP Kanduyi Lawrence Sifuna at Siritanyi Primary School in Bungoma County on December 16, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Mr Odinga blames President Ruto of bulldozing Parliament and the people with unpopular policies.
- Opposition leader also wants Speakers Wetang’ula (National Assembly) and Kingi (Senate) to resign from their leadership roles in their respective parties.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has castigated President William Ruto over his ‘unstoppable’ stand that seems to be a resolve to push through polices stopped by the courts over illegalities and unconstitutionalities.
Mr Odinga said President Ruto’s riding roughshod over Parliament and the people, and bulldozing through with unpopular policies mirrored the actions of former President Daniel Moi, whom he said Kenyans stopped.
“When someone says I am unstoppable, what does he mean? Who is he? Nyayo (Moi) used to say he was unstoppable. We stopped him. If we stopped Nyayo, who are you?” asked Mr Odinga in Siritanyi primary school in Kanduyi, Bungoma County, during the burial service of former MP Lawrence Sifuna.
Mr Sifuna, a celebrated reformist, was one of the seven bearded sisters, a term coined by former Attorney General Charles Njonjo, over their firebrand stance.
The seven were Abuya Abuya (Kitutu East), Onyango Midika (Nyando, now Muhoroni), Mwashengu wa Mwachofi (Wundanyi), James Orengo, Mr Sifuna, Chibule wa Tsuma (Kaloleni) and Koigi wa Wamwere (Nakuru North, now Subukia). Others closely associated with the seven were George Anyona, Chelagat Mutai and Wasike Ndobi.
According to Mr Odinga, Mr Sifuna, and the other pro-reforms leaders, would have rejected President Ruto’s new tendencies that he said were dangerous for Kenya.
“Kenya is now in a dangerous place. But the people have the Constitution; and it is there to protect them. If they try changing it or working outside it, we the people will say no. I know our fallen friend Sifuna would have been on the forefront also saying no,” Mr Odinga told the mourners.
President Ruto has insisted that his plan to roll out universal health coverage, collect a Housing Levy to fund a plan to build 200,000 houses annually and create thousands of jobs, sell key parastatals worth Sh200 billion in assets, as well as send Kenyans to other countries in labour emigration agreements — all of which have been halted by the courts, or opposed by the Opposition, to the chagrin of the Head of State.
Mr Odinga also castigated Parliament, demanding the resignation of Speakers Moses Wetang’ula (National Assembly) and Amason Kingi (Senate) from their Ford Kenya and Pamoja Africa Alliance (PAA) party leaderships, respectively.
Parliament, he said, had become an Executive rubber stamp, citing the passage of the Finance Act that is “hurting Kenyans”.
