Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition has prematurely called off protests that were planned for Tuesday, May 2, and blamed government officials for “hiring goons” to disrupt the demonstrations.
In a statement read by Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua, Azimio said the protests will resume on Thursday, May 4.
“Tomorrow, we take a break to strategize and recharge. Our protests will resume on Thursday, 4TH May, 2023. Same meeting point. Same offices. Same petitions. Same people,” she said.
Karua said the “goons” were acting under the command of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Trade Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria, were identified and recruited at a meeting in Thika a few days ago, then ferried to Nairobi last night.
“They have beaten up innocent citizens going about their normal activities, stoned motorists and burnt vehicles in a vain attempt to make the prophesies of Kenya Kwanza come true. Kenya is the loser in all this.
“Unfortunately, because of the mayhem, we were not able to present critical petitions to four offices as we had planned,” she stated.
Azimio petitions
Karua said the coalition was intending to present a petition to the IEBC showing that the presidential results it announced during the general election last year were doctored.
“We also intended to petition against the sacking of the four commissioners. The sacking presents a dangerous precedent in which in all future elections, all commissioners will be expected to agree with the chairperson of IEBC, effectively making the election a one-person show.
“We also intended to petition the Office of the President with evidence that the cost of food, fuel, electricity and fees remain unacceptably high. Further, we wanted to petition that office to desist from destroying political parties,” she added.
