Raila told to call Ruto, WhatsApp him if he doesn’t pick

Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto says opposition leader Raila Odinga should call President William Ruto if he is interested in the welfare of Kenyans, instead of organising anti-government protests which have plunged the country into chaos.

Speaking on Citizen TV’s Day Break program on Tuesday, Wandeto termed the protests, which have so far led to the death of over a dozen people countrywide, as riots to propel Odinga’s personal interests under the guise of concerns over the high cost of living.

The MP proposed that the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition party leader calls the president, saying if Ruto does not respond, he should send him a WhatsApp message with his concerns.

“The solution is for Baba to just call off tomorrow's riots. He has the phone number of President William Ruto, if he has five or ten points on how we can fix this cost-of-living issue, let him call the president, I don’t think the president will refuse. If the president doesn’t pick, let him send him a WhatsApp,” Wandeto said.

The anti-government protests, which are set to resume Wednesday for three days straight, have attracted the attention of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which last week urged local authorities to refrain from using deadly force when quelling the demonstrations, calling for speedy investigations into the reported deaths and injuries.

But Wandeto argues that orchestrating demonstrations that end up commanding international attention for negative reasons is unnecessary if Odinga is honestly concerned about Kenyans’ welfare.

“I don’t see why we require the international community if the issue is the cost of living. Let us call a conference on how to reduce the cost of living… this thing is a political situation; someone has not accepted that the political competition is settled through election but he would prefer to settle it in another way,” the MP said.

Kenya has since responded to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva over the OHCHR’s statement, saying Sunday that the protest was wrongly portrayed and misinformed.

"While the Permanent Mission shares the OHCHR's concern for human rights, it is obliged to contest the characterization of recent events in Kenya as 'peaceful protests'. Such a designation belies the widely and credibly documented ground reality," read the statement shared by Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing'oei.

The Permanent Mission insisted that there is a difference between the right to peaceful assembly and the acts of destructive rioting that occurred in Kenya in the last week. 

The High Court has however declined to stop the anti-government protests following a petition arguing that previous opposition-led protests caused deaths and property destruction, and if this week’s protests are not stopped, the country risks plunging into chaos.

Justice L.N Mugambi on Monday declined to issue the orders and instead set the case for mentioning on September 21.