Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli on Monday told workers to ignore the planned anti-government demonstrations by the opposition and go to work on Tuesday.
In his Labour Day address at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi, Atwoli argued that Kenyans have nothing to gain from taking to the streets, adding that the trade union will not defend any employee who faces dismissal for missing work on grounds that they were demonstrating.
“They (opposition leaders) have said tomorrow is protest day, but workers, let us not participate. We are salaried people, you miss work and you are fired and things can get worse. You cannot defend anyone on the basis that they were demonstrating,” said Atwoli.
“There is nothing you can gain… Employers and workers have to support the president so that we can spur economic growth,” added the trade unionist.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga on Sunday maintained that the planned demonstrations will still take place in Nairobi despite the police’s refusal to permit them.
Through a statement, the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition leader said the opposition is exercising their constitutional right to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and present petitions to public authorities peaceably and unarmed.
As a result, he announced that they shall present petitions to four government offices on Tuesday in an effort to pressure President William Ruto’s administration to heed their demands.
Odinga, who has refused to concede defeat to Dr Ruto in the August 2022 presidential race, said they will present a petition to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to substantiate their claim that the election results were doctored and demand an audit of the electoral servers.
“We shall also petition IEBC against the sacking of the four commissioners because it presents a dangerous precedent in which in all future elections, all commissioners will be required to agree with the chairperson of IEBC, effectively making the election a one-person show,” he said.
He announced that they will also present a petition to the Office of the President “proving that the cost of food, fuel, electricity and fees remain unacceptably high.”
“We will further petition OP to desist from invading and destroying rival political parties as was attempted on Jubilee headquarters and through the auction of MPs in Parliament,” he added.
According to Odinga, they will also head to the National Treasury to petition for the immediate release of all funds owed to counties and the timely payment of salaries to all civil servants.
“We plan to visit the Public Service Commission on the day to demand that appointments to public offices be done purely on the basis of merit and inclusivity, not tribe as is presently the case. We cannot have a country of close to 50 tribes where appointments go only to members of one tribe,” Odinga’s statement further read.
His announcement came a day after President Ruto issued a warning against any form of lawlessness or destruction of property by opposition supporters during the panned demos.
Ruto on Saturday said while he had given Odinga an option to address any grievances peacefully through the proposed bipartisan parliamentary process, the opposition leader had opted to resume demonstrations instead.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there will be no demonstrations to destroy people’s property, to cause chaos, to stop people from going to work, or our children from going to school. That will not happen,” he said.
Odinga called off the bi-weekly protests on April 2, after President Ruto welcomed Odinga to bipartisan parliamentary talks to address their grievances.
But the process has not effectively taken off, with the opposition accusing the Kenya Kwanza team of failing to commit to holding constructive talks.
Odinga also demanded out-of-parliament dialogue akin to the 2008 National Accord, which President Ruto shut down.
