Photo courtesy of the BBC

Rieko Mwenyewe gives his personal views on the recent street demonstrations in Kenya…

General Elections in Kenya have undergone various stages. I want to start with the tribal clashes in 1990. The Kalanjins living around Koru, Songo, Kopere and Chepsweta locations were perennially fighting while claiming the bounderies. Many cattle, agricultural plantations and of cours human beings, were affected.

These outbreaks normally happened close to or during the General Elections. The Government of the day managed to cool tempers but after conceding a few casualties.

The Election of 2007

The most serious mass action was witnessed in 2007/2008 after the highly contested General Election of 2007.

It was clear that the General Election was mismanaged by Electoral Commission of Kenya, then headed by the late Samwel Kivuit. It required intervention of the United Nations Security Council by sending the Secretary General, the late Kofi Anan to make peace. The result was a sharing of government by The Party of National Unity and the ODM, where H.E. Mwai Kibaki retained Presidency and Commander In Chief of Armed Forces Position and Hon. Raila Odinga became the Prime Minister. It meant, therefore, that the Mass Action succeeded at that time.

The Election of 2017

The next time mass action applied was in 2017 General Elections when Hon. Raila Odinga was crowned as the Peoples President of Kenya in 2018. After serious thinking and deliberations, H.E. President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta agreed to shake hands with Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga which brought peace and allowed Uhuru Kenya to rule peacefully until the General Elections of 2022.

The Election of 2022

Let us now look at the situation of General Elections of 2022 which H.E. Dr. William Samoie Ruto won.

The then Deputy President Ruto started to campaign way back in 2018 when apparently he differed with President Uhuru Kenyatta culminating in Uhuru Kenyatta supporting Hon. Raila Odinga for the candidature of Presidency in 2022 General Elections.

It is true that Hon. William Ruto ran a serious campaign but it is apparent that Hon. Ruto only covered two large regions, namely Rift Valley and Mt. Kenya, whereas Hon. Raila Odinga clearly covered Nyanza, Western, Nairobi, Coast, North Eastern and Easter Regions. Thus Hon. Raila Odinga imagined that he had won the General Elections of 2022. Since Rift Valley and Mt. Kenya are the largest regions in Kenya, Hon. Ruto claimed that he too won the General Elections as was indicated by Independent Electoral Commission of Kenya and confirmed by the Supreme Court of Kenya.

Hon. Raila could not hear of that, maintaining that he was the one who won the General Election of 2022. According to the Constitution of Kenya Act of 2010, demonstrations, picketing and protests are allowed and that is why Hon. Raila uses it to show cause of his claim using the people of Kenya.

The Constitution of Kenya Act 2010 on Article I, gives the people of Kenya sovereign power of managing the country either directly or using the elected leaders. If used effectively without the interference of the Kenya Police Service, the mass action can take many days without causing casualties.

Issues that Affect Mass Action

There are at least three issues which affect mass action. The interference of police by using tear gas, taking advantage by thugs, rouges and unemployed youths during the mass action, and finally hired thugs to counter the demonstrators.

The real issues causing the current mass action include, the increasing cost of living, the opening of the IEBC Server, the Repealing of Finance Act 2023 and the excessive use of the National Police Service.

Another issue escalating the mass action is the grandstanding and chest thumping by the government of the day and the stubbornness of the opposing party, using their right to demonstrate, protest and picket.

At the moment there are demonstrations in Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Morocco, Mozambique and Angola. In these Countries mass action is generally peaceful and the people are going about they activities normally.

The advice I would give to the government of H.E. William Ruro is to allow the demonstrators to picket without police intervention and stop to threaten the demonstrators with dire consequences. Security given to Members of Parliament is enshrined in the Constitution and should not be denied by the government. If not treated well the actions by the government will cause anarchy and split the good country called Kenya.