Umoja One Kenya coalition to storm the ultra-guarded US embassy in the posh suburb of Gigiri, Nairobi, to protest what they claim is the rigging of the August 9 2022 presidential election in favour of William Ruto.
Raila Odinga
According to a source within Azimio versed with inside happenings, their concerns are that America is now firmly backing Ruto and at the same time disregarding Kenya’s democracy.
They allege the president is out to micromanage the judiciary, legislature and other independent institutions such as the team to constitute the new IEBC and Directorate of Public Prosecution, and dropping of graft cases as their main area of concern.
All these is said to be happening without America and Western diplomats in Kenya raising a finger, unlike before when they shouted loud. Azimio says America going to bed with Ruto something it says is suspect.
The coalition is relying on a document whose source is unknown that claims Raila Odinga won the presidential race with 8,170,355 votes, translating to 57.53pc of the votes cast while Ruto came a distant second with 5,915,973 votes, translating to 41.66pc. The claims were made public by by Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua and shows how the US allegedly aided Ruto in rigging the presidential race.
Kalonzo Musyoka
It trashes the IEBC results that showed Ruto garnered 7,176,141 votes, translating to 50.4pc of the votes while Raila had 6,942,930 votes, representing 48.85pc.
Sources revealed that Raila, Karua, Kalonzo and other Azimio leaders will attempt to lead the march to the US embassy after holding a rally at Kamukunji on a date yet to be established.
Kalonzo, Karua and Dap-K leader Eugene Wamalwa are key players in the organisation of storming the embassy in their pro. It is however waited with huge interest to be seen if there will be anyone man enough to take on the mighty America whose government can in one stroke make you a pariah among the Western embassies in Nairobi or their countries should you dare “endanger our nationals with stones” as one diplomat put it to your favourite Weekly Citizen newspaper.
The plotters of the scheme want to use the current economic crisis bedevillling Kenyans to rebrand the opposition by blaming the Americans for the problems facing the nation. The idea is also meant to endear the opposition to Chinese side in the war with America in tapping Africa’s vast resources.
Remember, ever since he was elected president, despite China having heavily invested in Kenya during the Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta regimes, Ruto has not visited China but has made a number of trips to America and Britain.
In Africa, protests against US were once seen in Cairo, Egypt and in Tripoli Libya. The protesters attacked US diplomatic missions in September 2012 in a spasm of violence that led to the death of a state department officer in the Libyan city of Benghazi after fierce clashes at the compound.
The protestors will carry copies of the whistleblower’s dossier which they will dump at the US embassy’s gate, that is if they ever reach there, while the leaders will seek audience with US envoy Margaret Whitman.
Babu Owino
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, Mathare MP Antony Oluoch, Tom Kajwang (Ruaraka), George Aladwa (Makadara), Felix Odiuor (Langata), Senator Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga), Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna, Narok senator Ledama Ole Kina, Jubilee secretary general Jeremiah Kioni and former Kakamega governor Wycliff Oparanya are among leaders tasked with mobilising Azimio supporters to attend the rally and march to the US embassy. The Azimio leaders are convinced that foreign powers led by US doctored the results as they sought to install their puppet as president.
The rally and storming of the US embassy will be a litmus test on Ruto’s administration on how to handle dissenting voices.
For one, the US which calls itself beacon of democracy claiming its political system was designed to defend democracy, cannot sanction the use of force to quell the protest.
It is unlikely the Joe Biden administration will allow Ruto to use excessive force to quell the protest at the country’s doorstep. Already, the US president has indicated that he will visit Kenya soon.
However, the damage the protest will cause among the international community is the main aim of the plotters. The planners want US to rethink its association with Ruto.
Azimio is concerned that the Biden administration has not sanctioned Ruto for meddling with independent institutions such as the judiciary and IEBC.
They are of the view that US has chosen to focus more on economic interests than democracy. In fact, Weekly Citizen has information that Azimio is planning total overhaul of the current IEBC setup ahead of 2027 polls or they will boycott. The main concern is the electronic voting that is said to be influenced by certain faces in charge of the server outside the country in favour of the highest bidder.
In Azimio’s eyes, the US is using Ruto to fight Chinese economic dominance in Kenya while turning a blind eye on his interference with independent institutions. The dossier was allegedly released by unidentified man who claimed he is an employee of the IEBC. But Kenya Kwanza has dismissed the dossier as work of fiction.
