Williams Ruto and Kenya's Day of Discontent
13 July 2023 By Abiodun Kareem Giwa
Kenya was on fire Wednesday from Raila Odinga's called public protest against the rising cost of living. A bonfire occurs in several parts of the country from morning to night. Kenyans' response to the opposition leader's call to action shocked the government and its supporters. The protest turned into riots and overtasked police efforts to quell the rally. Some observers praised the protesters for lacking timidity; others say the overt destruction was uncalled for. Others say protest organizers should have given the government enough time to address the economic issues in the country.
The Nation's newspapers captioned its report as "Day of Chaos". One of the pictures shows a young protesting youth holding a bullet shell and screaming. A government said law-enforcement agencies mobilized to investigate and prosecute planners and executors of crimes. People say it is not a crime to protest, but government reserves the right to restore order when a protest becomes destructive.
Williams Ruto assumed power just about one year ago in a hardly fought election thought to favor Odinga. Still, Ruto won despite President Uhuru Kenyatta's support for the former against his vice president. Odinga challenged the election results in a court of law, but Ruto prevailed. Odinga has insisted he would do the needful to make Ruto's government acts bring dividends of Democracy to Kenya. The president called for cooperation to move the country forward. He said he reached out to Odinga because they both enjoy equal support. Odinga is known to fight hard as an opposition leader.
The government has vowed to make perpetrators of Wednesday's violent protest face the full weight of the law. Already four leaders of Odinga's Azimio are in police custody. But Odinga and other Azimio leaders think Wednesday's uprising has yet to achieve its objective. July 19 is the date for another protest. If the rally holds, July will be Kenya's season of discontent. It would mean opposition leaders have not heeded the call of patriots. They say Ruto needs more time to settle down to governance before judgment accountability.
Some patriots' argue it is less than one-year Ruto came to power. He needs to be allowed to spend more time before seeking accountability from his government. But some other Patriots think otherwise and cite the worsening economic condition one year after the assumption of power. It questions how long a government should be allowed in office before agitation to improve people's financial situation. The patriots seeking more time for Ruto may be right, and the patriots voicing worsening economic conditions may not be wrong. However, a school of thought says one year is enough for a government to show the direction it is taking the country.
They say there are enough examples of governments upon governments coming in succession that still need to deliver electioneering campaign promises, making the people tired of governance without benefits. Azimio's leader's call for protest could have gone either unheeded or attracts not so much crowd if the people were not already angry. It is the way politicians have given Democracy a new and different name from its original version of government of the people by the people. Kenya's event shows the people are angry. Azimio leaders saw the people's anger, and they capitalized on it. Azimio's leader's call for protest could have gone unheeded or attracts not so much crowd if the dastard economic situation had not gone beyond people's accommodation. Leaders should learn from Kenya's uprising that hungry people are angry people.
Odinga praised Kenyans for expressing themselves and said the police came out as criminals and attacked Kenyans, causing bodily harm and killing others. While the country's interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, likened anti-government protests that swept the country on Wednesday to terrorism.
The Nation's newspapers captioned its report as "Day of Chaos". One of the pictures shows a young protesting youth holding a bullet shell and screaming. A government said law-enforcement agencies mobilized to investigate and prosecute planners and executors of crimes. People say it is not a crime to protest, but government reserves the right to restore order when a protest becomes destructive.
Williams Ruto assumed power just about one year ago in a hardly fought election thought to favor Odinga. Still, Ruto won despite President Uhuru Kenyatta's support for the former against his vice president. Odinga challenged the election results in a court of law, but Ruto prevailed. Odinga has insisted he would do the needful to make Ruto's government acts bring dividends of Democracy to Kenya. The president called for cooperation to move the country forward. He said he reached out to Odinga because they both enjoy equal support. Odinga is known to fight hard as an opposition leader.
The government has vowed to make perpetrators of Wednesday's violent protest face the full weight of the law. Already four leaders of Odinga's Azimio are in police custody. But Odinga and other Azimio leaders think Wednesday's uprising has yet to achieve its objective. July 19 is the date for another protest. If the rally holds, July will be Kenya's season of discontent. It would mean opposition leaders have not heeded the call of patriots. They say Ruto needs more time to settle down to governance before judgment accountability.
Some patriots' argue it is less than one-year Ruto came to power. He needs to be allowed to spend more time before seeking accountability from his government. But some other Patriots think otherwise and cite the worsening economic condition one year after the assumption of power. It questions how long a government should be allowed in office before agitation to improve people's financial situation. The patriots seeking more time for Ruto may be right, and the patriots voicing worsening economic conditions may not be wrong. However, a school of thought says one year is enough for a government to show the direction it is taking the country.
They say there are enough examples of governments upon governments coming in succession that still need to deliver electioneering campaign promises, making the people tired of governance without benefits. Azimio's leader's call for protest could have gone either unheeded or attracts not so much crowd if the people were not already angry. It is the way politicians have given Democracy a new and different name from its original version of government of the people by the people. Kenya's event shows the people are angry. Azimio leaders saw the people's anger, and they capitalized on it. Azimio's leader's call for protest could have gone unheeded or attracts not so much crowd if the dastard economic situation had not gone beyond people's accommodation. Leaders should learn from Kenya's uprising that hungry people are angry people.
Odinga praised Kenyans for expressing themselves and said the police came out as criminals and attacked Kenyans, causing bodily harm and killing others. While the country's interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, likened anti-government protests that swept the country on Wednesday to terrorism.
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