Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Politics

Kenya's President Ruto asks opposition to give talks a chance

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) One Kenya Alliance, attends a rally ahead of talks with President William Ruto's government on high cost of living and electoral reforms at the Kamukunji grounds of Nairobi, Kenya April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

Kenya's President William Ruto asked the opposition on Sunday to give talks with the government a chance while his main opponent urged his followers to protest again over electoral reforms and the high cost of living.

Thousands participated in three days of protests over two weeks in late March marred by clashes between protesters and police. The protests partly stem from accusations of fraud in August's presidential election in which Ruto narrowly beat Raila Odinga.

On Thursday, Odinga said the opposition would resume protests after the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, to coincide with talks between it and the government.

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) One Kenya Alliance, waves to supporters as he arrives at a rally ahead of talks with President William Ruto's government on high cost of living and electoral reforms at the Kamukunji grounds of Nairobi, Kenya April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

Ruto's ruling coalition has said the vote was fair, defended its economic record and called for the protests to stop, saying they cast doubt over the opposition's sincerity in participating in the talks.

"Why don't we seek what we leaders want without chaos, no destruction of property, so that we can attend to the citizens' demands, while we discuss what we want?" Ruto said.

Odinga's Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) Alliance and Ruto's Kenya Kwanza (Kenya First) alliance disagree about the content of the talks and who should steer them.

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) One Kenya Alliance, attends a rally ahead of talks with President William Ruto's government on high cost of living and electoral reforms at the Kamukunji grounds of Nairobi, Kenya April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

Kenya Kwanza wants the talks to involve only lawmakers and discuss only the selection of electoral officials.

Azimio says others should take part and the talks should also review the 2022 elections and discuss measures to address the cost of living.

The talks are due to start on Tuesday, Senate Majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot said on Saturday.

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) One Kenya Alliance, flanked by Martha Karua and former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka attend a rally ahead of talks with President William Ruto's government on high cost of living and electoral reforms at the Kamukunji grounds of Nairobi, Kenya April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi

In late March, Odinga suspended the protests after an appeal from Ruto, but he repeated his call for protests at a rally in Nairobi on Sunday.

"If we don't hear from Ruto next week, when Ramadan ends, we are going back to the streets," he said.

(This story has been refiled to refer to multiple protests in paragraph 2)

Supporters escort Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) One Kenya Alliance, as he arrives for a rally ahead of talks with President William Ruto's government to address the high cost of living and electoral reforms, at the Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi, Kenya April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Additional reporting by Jefferson Kahinju; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.