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With Azimio leader Raila Odinga announcing, on Wednesday, February 22, that he has a planned mass action across the country, Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja has warned that such a move may be advantageous to President William Ruto.
Speaking on Wednesday during Citizen TV‘s JKL Show, Karanja stated that Odinga’s ‘maandamanos’ (demonstrations) will give Ruto an excuse not to deliver on his promises.
“We need to give this government time so that we can deliver. I know this because as an employer if you give somebody an opportunity to give excuses (They will not deliver). After two years, President Ruto will say we disturbed him. He will also say you called people and rallied them instead of letting people work,” she stated.
Karanja, as a result, implored the opposition to accord the President time to fulfil his campaign pledges.
Azimio Leader Raila Odinga addressing his supporters at the Jevanjee Gardens during the National Prayer Day on February 22, 2023
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Raila Odinga
“Why don’t you give him time so that after 5 years, you will ask him? But now, he will have excuses to give us,” she added.
According to Karanja, Ruto’s administration had inherited a dilapidated economy from former President Uhuru Kenyatta thus they needed time to grow and raise funds in order to fulfil their manifesto.
“Whether it was Raila or Ruto becoming a President, you can not fix a country in a day. You will need some time,” she argued.
Karanja’s remarks came in the backdrop of ultimatums that were issued by the opposition who demanded that taxes be rescinded in 14 days.
Odinga also called for the ongoing process of reconstituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to stop.
In what seemed like a bargaining demand from the opposition chief, he pushed for a bipartisan task force to be put in place to oversee the restructuring of the electoral body.
Responding to the opposition, President Ruto dared Odinga to make real his threat of mass action.
Ruto rebuffed that his government would not be threatened with impunity while imploring Odinga to give him more time.
“I want to tell them to give us time to clean up Nairobi city, to eradicate sewage and litter from Nairobi river, and show them how the city should look like. We want to talk about the affairs of our citizens at the moment and in the near future until that time comes,” Ruto stated on Wednesday.
President William Ruto during the launch of the Nairobi River Commission in Korogocho, Nairobi on February 22, 2023.
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William Ruto
