Kenya's opposition leader calls off anti-government protests

Kenya's President William Ruto had earlier called on opposition leader Raila Odinga and his team to call off the weekly demonstrations in Kenya to give dialogue a chance.

"I urge my brother Raila Odinga and the opposition to call off the demonstrations and to give this bipartisan approach a chance for us to take the country forward," Ruto said.

The Kenyan leader cited the loss of life and destruction of property as the leading causes of a change of heart.

Political truce, for now

Barely two hours after the president's address on Sunday evening, opposition leader Odinga announced the end of demonstrations that have rocked the East African Nation for the last two weeks.

While welcoming the president's move, Odinga said Ruto's call for dialogue was one of the most important statements by the president since the August 2022 election in which Kenya's Supreme Court upheld Ruto's win.

"We acknowledge Mr. Ruto's olive branch for dialogue on key issues raised by Azimio La Umoja to us this is a positive development," Odinga said, referring to his political party.

"We stand down our demonstrations for Monday, April 3, 2023."

Shock for Odinga supporters

The announcement to call off the protests has come as a shock to the many protesters that had planned to continue with the weekly demonstrations on Mondays and Thursdays.

It has also come as a relief to the many non-participants who found themselves embroiled in a contest that they had nothing to do with.

Ruto said three people, including a police officer, lost their lives during the protests, while more than 400 people, including at least 60 security officers, sustained injuries. In addition, many traders encountered losses in the past two weeks.

But striking a defiant tone, Odinga, 78, stressed there are some bare minimums which, if the government does not respond to within seven days, the opposition leaders and their supporters will be back to the streets with their weekly demos.

Right to demonstrate

Odinga also reminded the government that the right to demonstrate was anchored in the constitution and therefore could not be taken away from them.

"We want to emphasize that the right to assemble to demonstrate, petition and speak are ironclad as provided for in the constitution — therefore we reserve our right to call for demonstrations should these processes not bear fruit," Odinga warned.

While there have been calls for dialogue between the government and the opposition from civil society, religious organizations and the international community, the risk of increased violence in the country seems to have led the two leaders to find alternative means to settle the grievances raised by the opposition.

Acts of lawlessness condemned

"For the last two weeks, Kenya has experienced grave acts of lawlessness, widespread violence, looting and invasion of private property by persons taking advantage of political demonstrations called by the opposition," Ruto said in his Sunday address. He added that during this period "lives had been lost, people injured, property looted or destroyed, the economy has suffered and our image as a nation dented."

While on a recent visit to Berlin, Ruto told DW in an exclusive interview that the demonstrations in Nairobi were about an opposition not satisfied with the outcome of the election.

"The riots in Nairobi are not so much about the cost of living," Ruto maintained. "It is so much about some election result which is actually a settled matter, but of course because the cost of living is a pregnant issue, it's an emotive issue our competitors are trying to take advantage of it, but I think the people of Kenya are a lot wiser."

Cost of living is the elephant in the room

The president and the opposition leader have, however, agreed that the cost of living is a crucial factor and therefore needs urgent attention.

The Kenyan president has insisted that his government is working round the clock to deliver a long-term, cheap and sustainable plan to reduce the cost of living that will only be possible with the reduction in food prices.

Even in calling off the demonstrations, Odinga insisted that the cost of living was one of the bare minimums for a dialogue between the opposition and the government.

"We have said at a time like this we should go back to subsidies as was applied by the former regime so that the cost of living can come down for the majority of our people," Odinga told reporters. "That's not compromisable, it is one of our irreducible minimums."

Struggling economy

Ruto, who spent the last week in Belgium and Germany seeking more investments, said he regretted that Kenya's economy has suffered due to the protests.

The Kenyan shilling has weakened against the dollar in the last few months, and the demonstrations, which have led to business losses, property destruction and even losses in revenue collection in Nairobi, have not helped the situation to improve either.

"My administration has instituted solid measures and policies to attract investors and through their investments create opportunities for millions of our young people to realize their potential," Ruto said. "We cannot allow these efforts to be derailed by acts of violence, chaos and anarchy."

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu