Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party Leader Raila Odinga speaking to supporters at Kamukunji Grounds The nation's eyes were fixed on Kamukunji on Monday as opposition leader Raila Odinga took center stage to deliver a fiery rebuke to President William Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.
Accompanied by close political allies, Raila launched a scathing attack on the "Kenya Kwanza regime" and called for Ruto's resignation for "inability to govern." "We reject the 2022 election results totally. We do not recognize the Kenya Kwanza regime and consider it illegitimate. We don’t recognize William Ruto as president of Kenya or any official in office with him," Raila declared to a cheering crowd of supporters.
He also demanded a stop to any attempts to reconstitute the IEBC commission by Ruto and called for Kenyans to take part in fair deliberations.
Raila also revealed that he and his team had investigated last year's poll results and had information showing that Azimio had won the election. "Since August 15, 2022, we have investigated the election results and we are convinced our victory was stolen. The election was not even close. We won with over two million votes," Raila said.
He went on to claim that Azimio had garnered the most votes in all regions across the country, except for some parts of Rift Valley, where Kenya Kwanza had more votes.
Raila also praised the Central region of Kenya for voting overwhelmingly for the Azimio party for the first time and thanked the people of Mt. Kenya region for standing with him.
He also alleged that the Supreme Court, IEBC, a company he did not name and unnamed countries had taken part in the rigging of the election.
He demanded the release of the 2022 election data at the IEBC public for auditing by a foreign body.
Raila also accused Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit and President Ruto of arranging the chaos at the Boma of Kenya.
He also announced another public meeting at Jacaranda Grounds on Sunday, January 29.
The Azimio leader also took a swipe at Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for repeatedly attacking him. "I hear the DP ask the president to leave me to him. That he will deal with me. He calls himself a child of Mau Mau. Let me tell him that the person who had a hand in Mau Mau was Jaramogi Oginga Odinga," Raila said. "You don’t have respect. You don’t know where we have come from and you don’t threaten me. I was in jail three times while you were working for the Nyayo regime. I am not his age in life and in politics. Raila's fiery words came in response to President Ruto's recent accusations that he was trying to sabotage his administration's efforts to revive the economy, specifically in the coffee, tea and milk sectors.
Ruto had dared Raila to lead demonstrations over the outcome of the August 9 General Election, but Raila made it clear that he will not be deterred by such tactics. "I will not be held hostage by the whims of one man," Raila declared. "I will continue to fight for the rights of all Kenyans, and I will not be swayed by the desperate attempts of Ruto and his cronies to silence me."