Azimio leader Raila Odinga has arrived in Usenge, Siaya County, to attend the burial of comedian Fred Omondi, the younger brother of popular comedian and activist Eric Omondi. Fred tragically died in a road accident on Kagundo Road on the morning of June 15, after the bodaboda he was riding was involved in a head-on collision with a speeding bus around 6 am.
Raila is accompanied by Siaya Governor James Orengo and National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, along with other top ODM leaders. This marks Raila’s first public appearance since Generation Z initiated a wave of anti-Finance Bill protests across the country. While Raila had called for the rejection of the Finance Bill, 2024, he did not comment on the protests themselves. However, he condemned the State’s alleged use of brutal force against the protesters.
“I am disturbed at the murders, arrests, detentions and surveillance being perpetrated by police on boys and girls who are only seeking to be heard over taxation policies that are stealing both their present and future,” Raila said in a statement.
”We had hoped that the government would show goodwill and humility and at least listen to the country’s children, Instead, every dissenting opinion has been dismissed and ridiculed by government officials and ruling party politicians and such dissenting voices are now being silenced by brutality and murder.”
