As the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition resumes its weekly demonstrations, Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) in Nairobi have assured residents that the protests will be conducted peacefully.
The assurance came after the MCAs met with Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Peter Imwatok Jateso emphasized that they would weed out any demonstrators attempting to cause chaos, as they are familiar with their supporters.
“Anybody who is found stealing from Kenyans and doing other things will not be part of Azimio. We will not allow anyone to destroy people’s businesses in the name of Azimio demonstration.” He stated.
Imwatok alleged that some leaders from the Kenya Kwanza side, including National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, were planning to disrupt the demonstrations.
However, he assured that they would identify and deal with such individuals. He emphasized their commitment to peaceful demonstrations, stating, “We don’t want hate politics here; we will have peaceful demonstrations.”
The Makongeni Ward representative expressed his concern about certain individuals engaging in theft during previous peaceful demonstrations.
He recounted an incident where they encountered youth stoning businesses and took immediate action to stop them.
Imwatok stated, “As Nairobi leaders, we know those who don’t belong to this city, let everyone go and demonstrate at his town.”
During a breakfast meeting with women leaders and Nairobi MCAs, Raila Odinga urged his supporters to turn out in large numbers to protest against the high cost of living. Odinga announced that Azimio aims to collect 15 million signatures from Kenyans as a vote of no confidence in the Kenya Kwanza administration.