A lobby group in Mombasa has condemned calls by the opposition leader Raila Odinga for what they termed as inciting Kenyans to protest.
Speaking in Mombasa, the Voice of Mombasa Movement which is affiliated with United Democratic Alliance (UDA) caucus chairperson Salim Kuuza said that holding protests is outdated.
He said the cost of living has become hard and that President William Ruto needs to be given time to make the government.
“Coming up with protest is one of the things that will sabotage the development of the president and therefore we want to say as residents of Mombasa that we are condemning the opposition leader Raila Odinga for calling upon Kenyans to protest,” he said.
“We are from an election mood and this is time for working, give Ruto time to do his work. Protest will only result in people getting injured, women and children getting hurt something which we will not accept,”
The group spokesperson Michael Nato said that they respect the law and they are not against the protest because it is their right according to the constitution but one thing people need to ask themselves is what the intentions of the protest are.
“When we used to have black Monday, we wanted to revert Port operations back to Mombasa but this one does not have any intentions,” he said.
“If it is something to do with Juliana Cherera, the parliament has dealt with it and we have a committee which is in place to look at where the mistake was. If it is other challenges of the nation, the president must be given time to work on them.”
He said that the government has come up with good plans to keep people who have no job busy including the hustler fund program.
Nato said that the government is also coming up with opportunities which will help youth in getting job opportunities.
“If at all every time youths and women will be engaging in protest that its aims are not clear, we will be wasting time as a nation therefore we condemn the spirit of being in the mode of protest all the time because it will not help us,” he said.
This comes even as the ODM leader denies that his planned meetings are protests saying they are consultative in nature.
Mildred Odinga, the chairlady, also condemned the protest adding that it is happening because of the personal interest of the opposition leader and not because of citizens.
“The opposition leader is trying to bring the protest in the country to see if he can get the ‘Nusu Mkate’ but I want to tell him that does not exist. He is using Kenyans for his own benefit because we have not seen any changes that have come as a result of the protests,” she said.
She called upon Kenyans to focus on the families and their needs and not to come out to protest because they have been told to do so.
