William Ruto accuses his political nemesis, Raila Odinga, of “treason” as police declare a march in Nairobi illegal on Tuesday
30 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The president of Kenya, William Ruto, has broken off the rapprochement talks with the opposition coalition Azimio La Umoja – One Kenya led by his great rival, Raila Odinga, who has been accusing the president of electoral fraud for months and encouraging his followers to march in massive protests that have resulted in serious incidents with the Police.
In a harsh message released this past Saturday, Ruto has warned to act as head of the Armed Forces to stop any attempt at violence.
“I spoke with Raila and told him that any problem with me should be presented to Parliament. They have refused to do so and now they want to return to the streets. Well, I tell them that I am the commander in chief and I will not allow them to threaten the stability of the Government” , has warned during a rally in the city of Kakamega, in the west of the country.
“The opposition must stop. The government offered them its hand, and we have never protested against them,” he added.
Two weeks ago, Odinga denounced “signs of intransigence” in the talks with the Government and announced the preparations for new demonstrations in parallel to the talks; a decision that the Kenyan government has interpreted as an unwillingness to discuss the accusations against the president.
Now, the Nairobi Police have illegalized the opposition march scheduled for Tuesday in the city with the aim of preventing a repeat of the incidents of a month ago between protesters and riot police, which resulted in one death.
“Azimio’s demonstrations were not peaceful at all. We refuse to allow the Azimio team to give the go-ahead to continue with the demonstrations, and any demonstration of this type will be dispersed by law enforcement officers,” the police command has warned. the Nairobi Regional Police in a statement collected by the newspaper ‘The Nation’.
