Raila has no legal basis to call for demos, EALA MP Maina Karobia says

Maina Karobia

East Africa Legislative Assembly MP Maina Karobia.

Photo credit: Courtesy

East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Maina Karobia has told off Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga over weekly mass demonstrations saying the former Prime Minister has no legal basis to back up his street protest.

Mr Karobia said the demand by Mr Odinga that the servers of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should be opened is not backed by any law.

Speaking in Parliament alongside other Kenya Kwanza MPs, Mr Karobia said anyone who wants to verify results of the August polls should go to the IEBC portal where all the results were uploaded.

"Raila has no legal basis to go to the streets over the opening of IEBC servers, all the results are in the portal and can be accessed by any party," Mr Karobia said.

The EALA lawmaker said anyone involved in destruction of other people’s properties should be arrested adding that the right to picket should not be used to infringe on other people’s rights.

“If we see havoc in this country during the demonstrations, then the person that we should hold accountable is Raila, not the ordinary citizens who were arrested by the police,” Mr Karobia said.

Mr Odinga on Tuesday escalated the street demonstrations to two days a week-Mondays and Thursdays until the government meets their demand.

The coalition maintained that until the IEBC server is opened, the high cost of living lowered and the ongoing IEBC reconstitution stopped and adopt a bi-partisan approach, the demonstrations will continue.

They said that the right to picket is enshrined in the Constitution and warned police against using excessive force to disperse members of the public that are exercising their democratic right.

The Azimio leadership also maintained that their protests is always peaceful but accused the police of making it violent in order to paint the coalition in bad light.