Azimio leader Raila Odinga has said that Tuesday’s protests marred with violence were not the young generation who began the demonstrations.
Raila said that protests started as an expression of disaffection with the government by young Kenyans through peaceful protests degenerated into chaos and mayhem on Tuesday.
The Azimio boss said the scenes of people looting, vandalising and robbing were different from what was witnessed at the start of the protests by Gen Z.
“People who were not the Gen Z that started the initial protests hijacked it, looted businesses, attacked innocent Kenyans and destroyed critical infrastructure,” Raila said.
The ODM leader said young people who started the protests were out to correct the injustices in the country.
He added that the Gen Zs were trying to educate Kenyans that protests can be peaceful, and civil and still achieve the intended goals.
Raila said there were reports of innocent women being harassed and defiled in some parts of the country.
He condemned the actions of violence mated against the protesters and business owners that took place on Tuesday demonstrations.
The Azimio boss said that alleged thugs who hijacked the protests and turned them into mayhem against Kenyans amount to a double betrayal of the youth.
“The bad manners have to be stopped,” Raila further added.
Raila said the coalition continues to demand civility and accountability from security officers.
“I extend deep sympathy to the families who’ve suffered in the hands of looters posing as Gen Z protesters, innocent people who’ve seen their business premises broken into, their products looted and who now face the reality of being worse off than before the protests.”
Leaders have come out to condemn the violence witnessed during the Tuesday protests.
They claimed that alleged goons infiltrated the peaceful protests causing violence to paint a bad picture of the ongoing demonstrations.
Shops, supermarkets, restaurants and business stalls bore the brunt of the criminal acts perpetrated by marauding gangs of individuals disguised as demonstrators.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Tuesday released facial images of 38 individuals suspected of engaging in acts of lawlessness during the anti-Finance Bill protests.
While releasing the faces of the 38 suspects, the DCI asked members of the public to channel information that could help lead to their arrest via the Fichua Kwa DCI hotline number 0800-7222-03.
Information can also be relayed via police hotline number 999, 911 or 112, the DCI said.
“The individuals whose images/photos appear below are wanted by the police for their unlawful activities during the anti-Finance Bill 2024 demonstrations. We therefore advise them to report to the nearest police station for further police action,” DCI said.
During a media roundtable on Sunday, President William Ruto said police would not interfere with peaceful demonstrators but the tide would turn against any criminal elements out to orchestrate anarchy.
