Odinga Suspends Protests After Crackdown

Raila Odinga

Odinga Suspends Protests After Crackdown

Raila Odinga, the Kenyan opposition figure on Tuesday said he was suspending protest demanding restructuring of the electoral body after three people were shot dead in demonstrations.

“In honour of the innocent victims of the state, our protests will stay suspended. On Friday, we will mark the memory of these victims as heroes of the struggle for electoral justice,” Odinga said in a statement.

The AFP reported the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition as earlier saying the protests would resume on Wednesday after pausing for a day in a tribute to the victims.

But Odinga said the party would communicate “our next course of action” on Friday.

Following the Supreme Court’s judgement on September 20^th when Justice Philomena Mwilu said the election was “neither transparent nor verifiable.” And Chief Justice David Maraga said result verifications forms were incomplete and unsigned, Odinga, demanded more substantial reform at the IEBC and called on its Chairman Ezra Chiloba and other leaders to resign.

But Odinga’s demands has not happened. Chiloba has refused to step down. The Jubilee party’s demand for amendments to election law, to de-emphasize the role of electronic ballots in vote tallies and require a recount when results are disputed, has not happened too.

Instead, the IEBC has affirmed that election will happen on October 26 and that eight candidates from theAugust 8 ballot, including Odinga, will be part of the rerun. Election officials say Odinga did not complete the requirements to withdraw from the race.

The government is also taking decisive measures to stop further protests in the business districts of three cities, including the capital, Nairobi and officials preach that the ban will prevent violence.

The implication of the foregoing is that the government is not ready to accede to Odinga’s demands, no matter how germane the demands look