President William Ruto and Azimio One Kenya Leader Raila Odinga have been publicly disagreeing on a variety of issues, which appears to be directing the country’s political course in the first term of the Kenya Kwanza administration. Odinga who has constantly continued to oppose the government’s policies, directives, and decisions, which he believes are aimed at harming ordinary citizens while also violating the constitution and fostering bad governance.
In the recent reports, the outspoken former Prime Minister has criticized the government’s approach to addressing issues such as High cost of living that has left the common Mwananchi with no option than to dig deeper into their pockets to make ends meet; extrajudicial killings by police, judiciary reforms, higher taxation, retirement savings reforms, and the lifting of the ban on genetically modified (GMO) foods among others.
Raila has insisted that contrary to President Ruto’s claims to restore freedom in the country, the new government is instead returning the country to the days of KANU’S dictatorial rule, when citizens’ freedom and rights were suppressed.
The two have recently clashed vehemently over the ongoing investigation into the extra-judicial killings committed by police.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi, Odinga suggested that the government broaden the investigation into extrajudicial killings to include killings committed during the Jubilee administration’s first term.
“The government’s current investigation is not motivated by good intentions. We are against indiscriminate killings. Foreign agencies, such as Scotland Yard, which investigated the murder of Robert Ouko (former Foreign Minister), should look into the cases,” Odinga stated.
In a rejoinder, President Ruto stated that the government will not involve foreign organizations in the investigation of complex murder cases, as suggested by Odinga.
“We do not need advice from Scotland Yard to remove or disband the forces responsible for murder in the National Police Service. What we need to do is respect our constitution,” he said on Thursday at the Supreme Court during the launch of the report on the state of the judiciary 2021/2022.
Mr. Odinga has also disagreed with President Ruto on the Kenya Kwanza Government’s plan to broaden the scope of taxation and raise tax rates in order for the government to obtain funds to finance its activities rather than relying on loans.
Odinga has accused Dr. Ruto of playing tricks on Kenyans by failing to reduce the cost of living by lowering the price of essential commodities like flour from Sh230 to Sh70 for a packet of two kilos, as promised during the campaign.
The blame Game narrative seems to have taken the better part of our leaders in the country with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua constantly throwing shades at the former President Uhuru’s regime in what he terms as a total failure attributed to the Handshake between Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta. In the recent reports the Deputy President has been acting as a constant reminder to Azimio leader Raila Odinga to stick to his lane in opposition telling him that his work is to keep the government in check and that he ought to have embraced his role fully.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi however has called for an end to blame games between the Kenya Kwanza government and the opposition. Speaking in Machakos on Saturday, Mudavadi said that people should stop playing blame games and focus on providing services to Kenyans.
“Elections are behind us and the blame games won’t help, now we must put that behind us,” he said.
Mudavdai added that Kenya has problems that need to be solved urgently, and playing blame games will hinder that.
