President William Ruto has cautioned the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition over the planned demonstrations set for today, Wednesday, reiterating that the government will not condone any form of violent protests like previously witnessed.
“Walifanya maandamano Ijumaa, na waKenya sita wakapoteza maisha yao. Mnataka maandamano ingine ifanyike, maisha mengine ya potezwe? It will not happen,” Ruto said.
Ruto knows that the only violence so far in the Saba Saba rallies are his own police shooting peaceful demonstrators to death which has included killings in Migori, Kisumu and Kisii. All those six dead Kenyans were killed by the police. So Ruto is blaming Azimio for violence when his government is sending police to kill people?
Here are news reports from the ground and Ruto knows his killings are not stopping Kenyans from coming out to oppose his terrible policies and bad government. Nobody is scared of Ruto in Kenya and he knows that very well.
Three killed, ex-governor arrested for leading protest in Kenya
The number of people killed rose on Saturday, a hospital official and two police officers told AFP, after opposition leader Raila Odinga urged Kenyans to take to the streets against tax hikes.
“We had another death at the casualty now bringing the number of deaths to two as a result of demonstrations yesterday,” said George Rae, CEO of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga hospital in Kisumu, an opposition stronghold on Lake Victoria.
Two police officers speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said a third man died in hospital in south-western Migori county.
“It has been confirmed that the man taken to hospital with a gunshot wound in the head passed on,” one of the officers said by phone.
Another police officer confirmed the toll, saying “two fatalities were in Kisumu and one in Migori.”
Meanwhile, in Kisii, at least five people are nursing gunshot wounds at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, ANI reported, citing a The Sunday Standard report.
In Mount Kenya, former Laikipia Governor Ndiriitu Muriithi was arrested for leading a protest against the high cost of living in Nyahururu.
In a change of strategy to ensure the protests are more successful, Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition tasked its leaders to lead protests in their counties and regions, according to The Sunday Standard.
On Saturday, police used tear gas on civil society representatives, including former chief justice Willy Mutunga, who were demanding the release of dozens of people taken into custody during the protests, campaigners said.
“It is not justified at all for police to hurl tear gas at us when we have come peacefully to seek the release of innocent activists detained in the cells since yesterday”, said advocate Lempaa Suyianka.
“Some of them were even injured and they require medical attention,” he told reporters.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights on Saturday called for “a thorough investigation into all reported incidents of police brutality”, adding to the chorus of condemnation from rights groups including Amnesty International against “arbitrary arrests”.
“The acts of police brutality, including the use of excessive force resulting in injuries and the arrest and detention of peaceful demonstrators, are clear violations of… constitutional provisions,” the commission said in a statement.
Just after the rallies some of the most respected and globally recognized human rights lawyers in Kenya including Kenya’s former Chief Justice Dr. Willy Mutunga went to the Central Police Station where 73 Kenyans were being detained by the police for having participated in peaceful rallies.
The lawyers were attacked with teargas at the police station. That is what the Ruto regime is becoming for Kenyans. What kind of government shoots teargas at lawyers inside a police station?
Last week, Ruto signed into law a finance bill expected to generate more than $2.1 billion for the government’s depleted coffers.
The Finance Act provides for new taxes or increases on basic goods such as fuel and food and mobile money transfers, as well as a controversial levy on all tax-payers to fund a housing scheme.
The government says the taxes will help create jobs and reduce public borrowing.
The Nairobi high court last month suspended implementation of the legislation after a senator filed a case challenging its constitutional legality.
But Kenya’s energy regulator nevertheless announced a hike in pump prices after the doubling of VAT to 16 percent as stipulated in the law.
A completely desperate Ruto who have been hiding under endless trips outside Kenya now realizes he has to face the truth in front of him and the simple fact is that Kenyans are fed up with his nonsensical promises everyday and they are not afraid of his police killers and their guns.
So now Ruto invents a myth that he is trying to get jobs for 1 million youth and that is why Raila is fighting him. Well Mr. Ruto how many jobs have you created for the youth in the one year you have been office? Can you answer that first.
“No child is born in Kenya for Maandamano or kazi ya kutupa mawe. I want to reassure you that there will be peace tomorrow. Kila Mkenya ajipange aende kazini …kila mtu na hustle yake,” Ruto stated.
“Nataka niwaambie mapema na mchana; they protested on Friday and 6 Kenyans died. Do you want more demonstrations tomorrow so that more Kenyans lose their lives? No it will not happen.”
President Ruto added: “It is not right for a few people to think they can disorganize the republic to sabotage and cause mayhem and destruction of property. There is no type of politics that leads to loss of lives; that is anarchy and we will not allow it. I will not allow any other Kenyan to lose their life so that another person can satisfy his political ambition that is not going to happen.”
The president accused the opposition of attempting to sabotage his leadership, adding that the leaders were only envious of his plan to address unemployment in the country and therefore did not want him to succeed.
So William Ruto is killing people and complaining about lose of lives. We get that but can someone tell Ruto to stop killing Kenyans.
On the job front where Ruto is lying through his nose having failed to create any jobs for Kenyan youth we know one thing for sure.
The only jobs Ruto has created are the 50 CAS jobs and we know two facts about that. One is that they were illegal jobs and have been dismissed by the Kenyan courts. Maybe that is Raila’s machination with the courts or it is that bad man called Okiya Omtatah.
The other thing we know for a fact is that those were not jobs for the Kenyan youth but rather they were jobs for Ruto’s political dealers. Those jobs were for middle aged and old women and men and although some of them refuse to grow up they are not the youth Ruto claims he is getting jobs for.
According to the head of state, his plans to revive the country’s economy and create millions of jobs pose a threat to the Opposition leaders since they will not have any more youth to join the protests crusades.
“Hawa jamaa wa maandamano wamekasirika na mimi ati mimi nataka nichukue vijana wengi zaidi niwapeleke kazini watakosa watu wa maandamano na kutupa mawe,” he stated.
“Please give the Kenyan people and the Kenyan youth a break. The plan we have of a million jobs for the young people in our housing program, digital, agro-processing, value addition and manufacturing program, you cannot sabotage. I will not allow you to sabotage because you have done it for so many years…this year you cannot succeed.”
President William Ruto has hit out at members of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party for their constant opposition to the controversial Finance Act, 2023.
The Act, whose implementation presently stands suspended by the High Court, among other things seeks to introduce a 30 per cent excise duty on imported furniture as well as levies on imported raw materials, seemingly in a bid to encourage exports and local manufacturing.
Speaking in Embakasi East on Tuesday when he issued title deeds to Ruai residents, President Ruto broke his silence on the court ruling, noting that persons opposing the Act are only up in arms for their own selfish interests since they stand to lose more from its implementation.
“Hawa watu wanapinga hii Finance Bill kwa sababu wengine wao ni wale wanaimport hizi vitu kutoka majuu; hawataki vijana wa Kenya wapate ajira. Na mimi ninawaambia niko na nyinyi bumper to bumper kwa sababu you cannot disenfranchise the youth of Kenya,” he said.
The Head of State added that Kenya has readily available materials to produce furniture and other manufacturing resources such as cement locally, as such there is no reason to oppose the aforesaid measures captured in the Finance Act since they will create more jobs for Kenyan youth.
“Tuko na kila kitu ya kutengeneza simiti lakini tunaenda kuleta simiti kutoka majuu. Alafu factory yetu inafungwa, vijana wetu wanaenda nyumbani. Mimi nimesema mambo ya simiti kutoka nje hapana. Tutengeneze simiti hapa, vijana wetu wapate ajira,” he said.
“Vitu ingine ndogo ndogo tutengeneze hapa, ata chuma. We have the largest manufacturing capacities for steel in Kenya and we should promote our own steel industries so that we can create jobs, value and wealth locally.”
The President likewise noted that his administration will continue introducing initiatives that will better Kenya’s economy despite protests from the opposition.
“Nchi ya Kenya imekwama kwa sababu ya uongozi ambao haufikiri vipi tunaeza kwenda mbele pamoja and we have not been able to make difficult decisions to unlock the potential of Kenya because of a few people who want to threaten everybody. Mimi nawaambia watapatana na mimi this time,” he said.
President William Ruto has hit back at Azimio over tomorrow’s planned demonstrations saying they are mad at him because he wants to create employment for the youth.
Ruto was speaking on Tuesday while officiating the issuance of title deeds in Embakasi.
“Hawa majamaa wa maandamano wamekasirika na mimi. Ati mimi nataka nichukue vijana wengi waende kazini watakosa watu wa ya kufanya maandamano na kutupa mawe, kwani kuna kijana amezaliwa Kenya hii kufanya maandamano na kutupa mawe?” Ruto asked.
He further called on the opposition to desist from the protests saying their actions will sabotage his economic development plan.
“The plan we have for a million jobs for the young people in our country through the housing, digital and value addition programme, you (Azimio) will not sabotage,” Ruto said.
“I will not allow you to sabotage that plan because you have done it for so many years. This is not the year you’re going to succeed.”
Opposition chief Raila Odinga has vowed to lead his supporters to the streets for another anti-government protest on Wednesday.
The protests are expected to take place in major parts of the country as Raila has already dispatched key members of the Azimio coalition to lead the demonstrations at the grassroots level.
During the Saba Saba protests last Friday, six people were allegedly shot dead by police in Kisii, Migori, and Kisumu, and more than 100 people were arrested and several others injured.
The other thing scaring Ruto about July 12 2023 rallies against his regime is that so many groups and institutions in Kenya are gearing for the action as they are all tired with Ruto’s gimmicks. In the transport sector the other Ruto madman Kipchumba Murkomen just got their regime in big trouble trying to harass long distance drivers in Kenya and they are ready to take action against this government where everybody wakes up and cooks up something to be in the news. Just despicable.
Murkoman has now backed off to try to save their regime from the wrath of long distance drivers. Murkoman has now suspended mandatory testing for the drivers he ordered only two weeks ago in a bid to forestall a looming strike set for Wednesday.
I mean there is clueless and super clueless regimes in the world. The Ruto regime wants to beat all records on clueless governments. They are doing a very good job right now and they don’t even know what to do next.
Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has asked President William Ruto not to barge on his resolve not to allow Wednesday protests by the Azimio la Umoja coalition to go on.
The President was speaking in Ruai after issuing title deeds to shareholders of the Embakasi Ranching Company.
Ngunyi told him to remain steadfast in that resolve.
“On the flip side. Dear Ruto, never question the dark decisions you made in the light. This is how states are made. Do not turn to the right or to the left. Kaa Ngumu on #Maandamanowednesday.”
But in a subsequent tweet, the political pundit advised Ruto to tread with caution in his response to acts of defiance to a section of Kenyans who feel disenfranchised by his leadership.
In the words of Canadian journalist, author and public speaker Malcolm Gladwell, Ngunyi reminded the President that Kenyans are mad at something and he is the target of their aggression.
“Dear Ruto, kaa ngumu, but remember, politics is about the power of context. And a powerful context leads to a tipping point,” he said.
“Kenyans from all four corners of our republic are angry about something. And you are their object of aggression.”
“As the people demonstrated last week, Kamkunji will be everywhere and anywhere across the country where Kenyans gather in the name of justice and well-being,” Raila said on Tuesday at the SKM command centre in Karen, Nairobi.
He spoke at a press conference after launching a digital platform dubbed Tumechoka Citizen Initiative to upscale the collection of 15 million signatures in a bid to ‘remove’ Ruto from power.
“Once again, we appeal to Kenyans to come out in even bigger numbers and make their voices heard. With time, Ruto will respect Kenyans,” Raila said.
But in a sudden turn of events, Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome issued a statement banning the Wednesday demos.
He cited the need to preserve lives after six people died during the Saba Saba march on Friday and the failure on the Azimio side to notify police of their intention to demonstrate.
“In this regard, no such demonstrations/gatherings, or protests will be allowed tomorrow (Wednesday) since no such notification has been presented to any police station. All lawful means will be used to disperse such demonstrations,” Koome said.
And the other Ruto Twitter warrior is even more confused.
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You’ve failed and you’re now in denial – Kabando tells Ruto
“Bwana Rais, keep your UDA goons away from our nonviolent protests.”
Former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando has said President William Ruto has failed and is now a man in denial.
In a statement on Tuesday, Kabando said even though he recognised Ruto as the holder of the top office, the President was a “failed, desperate and deceptive” man.
He went on to quote the Amharic phrase found in the Bible, “Mene Mene Tekel”, which was regarded as a warning of an inevitable fail, then.
The words translate to “God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end, you have been weighed and found wanting”.
“Mr President, you’re in denial. Mene Mene Tekel,” he tweeted.
“Bwana Rais, keep your UDA goons away from our nonviolent protests against your illegal taxes.”
In Nyeri right now Ruto is creating 1 million jobs for donkeys as folks turn to them to save transport costs. Very good job for Mr. President. Keep going. If only Hustler donkeys could vote in the next election Ruto would be very happy.
