Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader Raila Odinga has clarified his agreement with President William Ruto on a six-day national dialogue to address issues facing Kenyans.
Speaking at the burial of Henry Ongoma Ambetsa, the elder brother of former Kakamega Governor Wickliffe Oparanya, Raila emphasized that the dialogue will be for the people and not between him and Ruto.
“We agreed to hold people’s dialogue not a dialogue with President William Ruto or the United Democratic Alliance Party. Even the Head of State did not want dialogue. That is where people got it wrong,” he said.
He went on to state that he will not be heading to the dialogue as “beggar” for jobs as alleged in some quarters but rather to deliberate on important aspects of the current crisis.
“We wanted to discuss governance, not power distribution. We are not beggars, but we just need good governance,” Raila stated.
Raila Calls for Fresh Elections
He highlighted that Kenyans lack trust in their elected Members of Parliament and called for the dissolution of the National Assembly due to a lack of confidence from the people. As such, the ODM Leader emphasized the importance of holding elections.
“The whole National Assembly should go home because there is no confidence from the people. We want the MPs to go home. We want fresh elections,” he said.
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He also stated that Kenyans do not trust the Judiciary, Legislature, and Executive, and called for radical changes in all three arms of government.
“The Judiciary that insulted us during the 2023 elections, claiming that we were saying “hot air”, we also want radical reforms in the Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive,” he said.
Azimio leader Raila Odinga also stated that the demands of Gen Z have been consistent since 2022, focusing on issues such as the high cost of living, high taxes, youth unemployment, corruption and tribalism.
He emphasized that these ongoing issues are the ones prompting the call for fresh elections, which would also involve the governors and Members of the County Assembly stepping down.
Raila stated that Kenyans should engage in dialogue to express their views about corrupt politicians who transport taxpayers’ money in sacks and also share resolutions on matters they want settled.
Azimio Leader Explains Why He Attended Ruto’s Event
He was also forced to explain why he attended a meeting after the signing of the IEBC bill after he has faced criticism, including insults by the Gen Z.
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“Gen Z reached out and asked me to go to State House to witness the assenting of the IEBC Bill, but I declined because I did not want to go there and I suggested that it can be hold elsewhere,” he said.
“Later, I learned the event would take place at the Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC) and I had to call the Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka to tell him that since he was our representative he should attend the event with Opiyo Wandayi, but Kalonzo insisted that I should come along.”
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