The return of Raila street currency

The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya is said to have mooted a multi-pronged approach to counter Ruto's overtures to its key lieutenants in a move to consolidate the opposition as a formidable force.

Opposition chief Raila Odinga, whom Ruto had openly asked to take up his role to keep the government in check, is raring to fall back to his former past as a trenches warrior.

What started as normal criticism of Ruto's government by the opposition is on the verge of morphing into full-blown mass action, with a likelihood of devastating effects on the economy.

Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, while defending his handshake with Raila, repeatedly warned that the country must never afford another post-election political standoff.

Uhuru went on to outline the devastating effects of political crises that smart from presidential elections, revealing that they were costing the country billions of shillings.

But before Ruto could close the standard 100-day mark in office, Raila has warned of the return of mass action, accusing the President of trying to return the country back to Nyayo-era dictatorship.

Analysts say the push and pull over the fate of the current Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission could be the last straw to break the camel's back.

The Azimio coalition has warned that the ongoing process to kick out the four IEBC chiefs — vice-chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang’aya —who disowned the presidential results that declared Ruto the winner signals a return to authoritarianism.

"The injustice being inflicted on the four commissioners, if it proceeds as currently conceived, will mark the beginning of a massive push back against Ruto and those who think like him," Raila said.

Ruto has already fired salvos at Raila, accusing him of being part of the "Lords of impunity' who destroyed oversight institutions through the handshake.

The President has also vowed to have the commissioners punished for trying to subvert the will of the people.

"They should allow Parliament to hold to account rogue officials who put the nation in danger by subverting the democratic will of the people," Ruto said in a tweet.

Critics say the IEBC agenda is just a smoke screen in Raila's big agenda to distabilise President Ruto's government and derail his agenda in order to build his credentials ahead of the 2027 polls.

Raila has insisted that Azimio would explore every avenue to stop the removal of the four commissioners, including calling for mass action.

On Thursday, the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee recommended the setting up of tribunal to try the four.

In 2017, Raila's then Nasa coalition escalated street protests against President Uhuru Kenyatta's government, and in which Ruto served as deputy president.

Raila and his Nasa brigade had claimed that they did not recognise Uhuru as president especially after he mobilised his strongholds to boycott the repeat election.

It was until March 2018, that Raila and Uhuru shook hands on the footsteps of the Harambee House Office of the President to symbolise an end to the street protests.

Ruto, who had repeatedly claimed he was kept in the dark by his boss about the real intentions of the handshake, is finding himself in the same tight corner as Raila plots mass action against his government.

But a buoyant Ruto has rubbished Raila's plan to organise public meetings and demonstrations in favour of the four besieged electoral commissioners.

The plan, President Ruto said, was the wrong way to push for accountability in government, saying there were other ways to keep his Kenya Kwanza government in check.

“We are consolidating our country and I want to tell our brothers in the opposition to work with us, to criticise us, but let’s keep the country peaceful,” Ruto said.

“I don’t think holding demonstrations and asking Kenyans to do whatever they want them to do is part of holding the government accountable.”

If Raila makes good his threat to start a push back against Ruto, there are fears of a return to the post-2017 standoff.

There were chaos in Raila's strongholds, with his supporters boycotting the repeat presidential poll in which Uhuru won by a landslide.

Later, Raila engineered a mock swearing-in as the people's president at Uhuru Park on January 30, 2018, further escalating pressure on Uhuru's administration.

Raila's co-Nasa principals Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo Muysoka and Moses Wetang'ula, however, snubbed the ceremony, which was administered by controversial lawyer Miguna Miguna. Miguna is now one of Raila's harshest critics. 

The political standoff that smarted from the nullification of Uhuru's election, the subsequent skirmishes in Raila's strongholds and the repeat poll boycott had all put the country on the tenterhooks.

“No President would want to go back to the days of street protests and mass action. The government has a duty to listen to the opposition and find a win-win situation on some issues,” political analyst Alexander Nyamboga says.

According to the university don, both the government and the opposition must avoid taking the country down a dangerous path that would negatively affect the economy and precipitate a political crisis.

The opposition is already planning a parallel Mashujaa Day celebrations on December 12, in what could further push the President to a tight corner.

The coalition was to being its street protests on Wednesday but called off the mass action plan to pave way for the administration of national examinations.

There is a rally planned for Kamkunji ground on December 7 in what is seen as a build up to the opposition's mass action in the coming days.

Azimio deputy secretary general and National Assembly Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi explained the coalition’s plans, within and without the House, in its bid to maintain unity.

The Ugunja MP said the coalition will deploy a multi-faceted approach to defend itself, including continued engagement with members at all levels, balanced allocation of available roles and, above all, “direct engagements with the people on the ground”.

"Even Daniel Moi's regime, at its most dictatorial phase was resisted and stopped in its tracks. Ultimately we shall deploy all possible means," he said.

While Ruto has warned the opposition against mass action, he also taken a swipe at Raila and Kalonzo saying they should allow him to create jobs for the millions of unemployed Kenyans.

“You have already planned the future of your children, they are serving in EALA, allow me to get jobs for the hustlers,” Ruto said on Tuesday.

Raila's critics say he is looking for a way to a handshake with the President, reminiscent of the 2018 one that Ruto claimed derailed the government agenda.

Ruto has publicly said he will not entertain any push towards another handshake, adding that he will need a strong opposition to keep his government in check.

However, Raila appears to plotting a strategy to counter Ruto in the coming months after his 100 days in office are over — on December 23.

Last week, Raila met with Azimio elected governors and their deputies in Naivasha and resolved to build momentum for a grand resistance against Ruto's policies with the county chiefs expected to play a key role.

Part of the Raila's plan is to keep Azimio united from the top brass to the grassroots ,with governors expected to take charge at the bottom level.

Governors will be required to occasionally address the media on issues of national interest as well as explain to the people what Azimio is doing to protect them from government excesses.

There will also be a few countrywide people's engagement forums where top Azimio leaders will address their supporters as part of plans to hold the government in check.

"We shall hold reflections and consultations with Kenyans on the required resistance and struggle to protect our democracy," the meeting resolved.

In the resolutions read by Kisumu governor Anyang' Nyong'o, Azimio warned it will not relent in the face of what they termed as the emergence of authoritarianism.

Edited by Eliud Kibii