BY ESTHER MUTURI
Azimio One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga has declared Friday the 7th of July a day of protests.
According to Odinga, the protests are aimed at expressing rejection of President William Ruto’s newly announced tax measures.
“We the people will convene for a major declaration on the Saba Saba day on Friday, June 7, 2023,” Raila declared.
Speaking at the homecoming ceremony of the newly elected Luo Council of Elders chairman in Kisumu on Sunday, Odinga asked Kenyans to turn up in large numbers on Friday, to demonstrate their disapproval of what he said was a takeover of parliament by the executive.
During the Kamukunji rally a week ago, Raila Odinga criticized the President for allegedly neglecting the pleas of Kenyans who have been calling for relief from the burdensome cost of living.
The Azimio leaders described the Finance Act of 2023 as oppressive and would only hurt Kenyans by raising the cost of living.
Raila said that all the members of parliament have been compromised they no longer listen to whatever the Mwananchi has to say they are dancing to the tune of President Ruto.
The date selected by the opposition leader is an important day in Kenyan history that traces back to the year 1990 when Kenyans took to the streets to demand free elections.
The day was dubbed Saba Saba as it was the seventh day of the seventh month and was very powerful during former President Moi’s regime.
According to history, the Saba Saba rally organized by members of the opposition at Kamukunji stadium in Nairobi was declared illegal, however, 6,000 people reportedly turned up and riots broke out when a contingent of police arrived in riot gear and began using batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The crowd responded by hurling stones at the police and stoning cars. Soon the riots spread to the outskirts of Nairobi, toward Majengo and Pumwani shanties and “the poor estates” of Dandora, Kariobangi, Kawangware, Kangemi, and other towns of Kenya such as Nakuru, Muranga, Narok, Nyandarua, Kiambu, Nyeri, and Thika.
The riots reportedly lasted four days and left 20 people dead, many others injured, and more than 1,000 people in jail.