The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kenya’s defeated opposition leader Raila Odinga on August 13 urged his supporters to boycott work, promising to announce on August 15 his strategy after an election he claims was stolen from him.
AFP PHOTO
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga vowed Sunday not to back down over an election he claims was stolen from him and urged his supporters to boycott work until he announces his strategy next week.
The 72-year-old told his supporters to stay at home and out of the way of police, after the international community beseeched him to send out a message to try to halt protests which have left 16 people dead since Friday night.
However, he defiantly vowed to “remove” the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who official results show was re-elected by a large margin in last Tuesday’s election that pollsters had described as too close to call.
“We had predicted they will steal the election and that’s what happened. We are not done yet. We will not give up. Wait for the next course of action which I will announce the day after tomorrow (Tuesday),” he told a heaving crowd of supporters in Nairobi’s largest slum, Kibera.
Raila Odinga arrives in #Kibera to address his supporters. #Kenya pic.twitter.com/IBipEMcLzk
— Daniel Finnan (@Daniel_Finnan) August 13, 2017
#Odinga supporters chant, “Uhuru must go” & “No peace”. Think we’re waiting for the PA system so he can speak. #Kenya pic.twitter.com/9fs8M7Oa0S
— Daniel Finnan (@Daniel_Finnan) August 13, 2017
As we mourn Kenyans killed by Jubilee mandated death squads, let’s observe tomorrow as a day of mourning for the fallen patriots.
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) August 13, 2017
– ‘No Raila, no peace’ –
Kibera residents climbed on to roof tops and hung off trees to catch sight of Odinga, who was speaking for the first time since Kenyatta was declared the victor Friday in a poll he claims was massively rigged.
“No Raila, no peace,” chanted the crowd, using the rallying cry heard after Odinga claimed a 2007 election was stolen from him.
The results of that poll led to two months of protests and ethnic killings which left 1,100 people dead and 600,000 displaced.
Friday’s announcement of the election results sparked immediate protests in Odinga’s strongholds in western Kenya and Nairobi slums including Kibera and Mathare, which have left at least 16 people dead according to an AFP tally.
On Sunday the flashpoint areas were calm, with signs of life returning to normal as shopkeepers cautiously reopened after two days of running battles with police, who in some cases fired live ammunition to disperse protesters.
Odinga’s National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition has insisted Odinga was robbed of victory through hacking and manipulation of an electronic vote tallying system.
However calls for them to take their grievances to court, while Kenya’s foreign partners heap congratulations on Kenyatta, have left them isolated and under mounting pressure.
LOCATION OF KISUMU: Several deaths have been reported in the city in West Kenya
The election was Odinga’s fourth failed shot at the presidency. In 2013 he said the election was rigged and took his case to the Supreme Court where he lost.
This time his party officials have said court is not an option.
“If he tells us to go on the streets, we will go on the streets. If he wants us to stay home, we will stay stay home,” said 25-year-old hairdresser Humpfrey Songole in Mathare.
