Kenya’s main opposition party on Tuesday announced plans to hold a public rally as it prepares for talks with the government, reported The East African.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s party, Azimio la Umoja, said it would hold direct engagements with the public including a rally in Nairobi. The party ensured that it remained committed to easing political tension through dialogue after anti-government protests turned violent last month.
Odinga’s party Azimio said there will be a town hall meeting on Thursday that will be followed by a public rally on Sunday. It said that the purpose of the meeting and rally is to explain the party’s upcoming course of action.
“Azimio remains committed… to the spirit of the Easter deal that saw the two parties commit to dialogue,” Wycliffe Oparanya, the party’s executive council chairman, said in a statement.
The statement urged Kenya’s government should indulge in talks with a commitment to an honest and transparent process that engages all the issues affecting the country.
Last month, Odinga called for weekly protests against the growing cost of living and questioned last year’s election results. During the three days of protests, three people died and businesses and property were torched and vandalized.
Odinga suspended the protests after Kenya’s President William Ruto suggested the opposition indulge in talks to discuss their concerns.
Ruto, whose election victory was upheld by the Supreme Court, has ruled out the possibility of striking any alliance with Odinga. He has called for the talks to be held within parliament that too in a bipartisan manner.
Azimio has named a seven-member team for the talks but wants observers from outside parliament to be involved, something the government has ruled out.
Odinga has threatened to return to the street if no progress is made toward the opposition’s demands, which also include a reassessment of last year’s election results.
