Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot criticized President William Ruto’s proposal for dialogue with Kenyans following recent anti-government protests.
Ruto, along with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, announced plans for a six-day multi-sectoral dialogue forum involving representatives from various sectors to address pressing issues starting July 15.
In an interview with Citizen TV on Thursday, Aukot dismissed the proposed talks as a diversion led by politicians that sidesteps the core issues concerning Kenyans. He specifically pointed out that the government has not yet acknowledged or apologized for the violence and deaths that occurred during the protests against the Finance Bill, 2024.
“You cannot dialogue with a person who has not even apologised to you… Talk about what? What Kenyans are asking for is results, change and accountability,” said Aukot.
“Let us not divert; this is just another handshake loading,” he added, referring to Odinga’s political truce with retired president Uhuru Kenyatta on March 9, 2018, after 2017’s disputed presidential election results.
According to the Thirdway Alliance leader, Ruto’s government is fooling Kenyans.
“You cannot deny that there were disappearances and deaths and that people were shot. The statistics are there and this is the age of technology; you cannot fool people,” he said.
More than 39 fatalities occurred during the demonstrations from June 18 to July 1, as reported by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. The commission documented 361 injuries, 32 cases of enforced disappearances, and 627 arrests of protesters.
However, President Ruto’s government has refuted allegations of police involvement in abductions and defended the actions of plainclothes officers linked to these incidents. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has pledged that the government will address accusations of abductions and disappearances allegedly carried out by security personnel during the protests.
Amid escalating public pressure, Ruto opted not to sign the Finance Bill into law, instead announcing austerity measures to cover the budgetary gaps it aimed to address through increased taxes.
Thirdway Alliance leader Ekuru Aukot criticized Ruto, asserting that the President’s actions have plunged the country into dysfunction. Aukot highlighted Ruto’s subsequent signing of the Appropriations Bill, 2024 into law after withdrawing the Finance Bill.
“How do you sign an Appropriations Bill, which is an expenditure law, without a Finance Bill, which is how you collect the money? By deleting an entire Bill, you are telling Kenyans that we do not have a House that can legislate for you, that can pass a law that is of common good to people,” he said.
“The lies from back to 2022 are now catching up on him and his government. You overpromised people knowing very well that you were lying to them and that is why we are dealing with a dysfunctional government.”
Ruto and Raila’s dialogue push has however been met with backlash from Kenyan youth, who maintain that they want accountability from the government.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, a section of youth on social media questioned Odinga’s capacity in the talks as they distanced themselves from being represented by political figures.
“Raila, as you go ahead and dialogue, kindly don’t involve us. Discuss your private matters. You don’t speak on our behalf,” X user 5peopleke wrote.
Similarly, Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua, who was Odinga’s presidential running mate in the 2022 General Election termed the move “a trap” likely to benefit “a handful of elites.”
“Let’s be careful as the political class lest we hijack the genuine clamour for accountability and reforms by the Gen-Z. This is a trap period,” Karua wrote on X.
The Wiper Party, a member of Odinga’s Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition, has also instead called on the government to address the issues Kenyans raised during the recent protests rather than pushing for a meeting with their so-called representatives.
