Odinga re-affirmed his position on the sustained pressure demanding for Ruto's resignation during a meeting with Members of Parliament from his ODM Party on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
The former Prime Minister said that hounding President Ruto out of office would be useless as it would mean Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua assuming power and continue with the same policies.
Odinga reasoned that forcing Ruto out would even possibly worsen the situation, plunging the country into turmoil if the military was for example allowed to take over, a replica of what befell Egypt a few years ago.
'It's at times of crisis like this that a country needs to talk. We are not doing it to save Ruto. We are doing it to save Kenya. Generals don't have teargas. They don't have water cannons. They have bullets,' he pointed out.
Odinga's firm stance on the ongoing protests demanding Ruto's resignation comes amid reports of growing rift among high-ranking officials in his coalition including former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and former Justice Minister Martha Karua.
Musyoka and Karua appear to harbour a hard-line position on increasing calls for President Ruto to exit office, insisting that the Head of State had failed to address the plight of Kenyans including the high cost of living that has pushed the prices of basic commodities through the roof.
The rift in the opposition coalition became apparent when rowdy youths forced Musyoka to cut short his speech during the ODM Parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday.
Musyoka's address was disrupted shortly after he began reading a statement deemed to contradict Odinga's position on the ongoing protests. Odinga had excused himself to attend to other engagements.
Later senior members of Odinga's ODM party accused Musyoka of trying to paint Odinga as a traitor while simultaneously collaborating with Ruto's deputy to undermine the Head of State.
'We must identify what works for us as ODM. We are the bigger party in Azimio and we cannot be bullied,' Hassan Joho, a former governor and high-ranking official in the ODM party stated.
John Mbadi, the national chairperson of the Odinga party, also fired at Kalonzo, saying some of the opposition coalition partners were being dishonest.
'This country must talk. Our partners in Azimio are dishonest. We have children and we have a country to save for them,' Mbadi said.
Odinga, who commands a huge following in Kenyan politics, is gunning for the position of chairperson of the African Union Commission after five unsuccessful attempts at the presidency.
His calls for dialogue to resolve the standoff between the young people and the government are seen by critics as self-centred, given his hard stance against Ruto's administration in the past.
The Kenyan government has already endorsed Odinga's attempt for the continental job at AU and is expected to lobby support for him ahead of elections scheduled for February 2025.
Deadly protests
There are growing concerns over the youth-led protests in Kenya, which turned violent in recent weeks, with the government insisting that what were otherwise peaceful demonstrations were infiltrated by goons keen to cause mayhem.
According to the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC), the protests have so far claimed 50 lives. At least 20 of the victims were shot dead when angry protesters stormed Parliament buildings in Nairobi shortly after the passing of the Finance Bill on June 25 2024.
The protests forced President Ruto to make several changes in his modus operandi including the withdrawal of the controversial bill and recently firing his entire Cabinet.
President Ruto also scrapped the operational budgets for the Office of the First Lady and that of the Deputy President's wife.
However, despite these changes, Kenyans returned to the streets on Tuesday, demanding for the President's resignation.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
