• Bii met elders from various communities and urged residents to go to work as usual and ignore Raila's calls for demonstrations against Ruto’s regime.
• Governor said there were other mechanisms besides protests, which would lead to destruction and further injury to the economy.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Governor Jonathan Bii of Uasin Gishu has said Azimio led anti-government demonstrations will not be allowed in North Rift, which is the home of President William Ruto.
Bii met elders from various communities on Saturday and urged residents to go to work as usual and ignore calls by Opposition chief Raila Odinga for demonstrations against Ruto’s government.
Raila has declared Monday a national holiday, which he is not empowered to do.
“We urge our people to go on with their activities as usual and ignore calls to participate in demonstrations," Bii said.
Odinga and his Azimio team have called for the protests countrywide to push for electoral justice and action by the government to deal with high costs of living. They reject the legitimacy of Ruto's victory.
Bii said there were other mechanisms to deal with such issues besides protests, which would lead to destruction and further injury to the economy.
The elders, however, pledged to rally their communities in support of President Ruto.
Ruto allies in the region have urged Odinga to allow the President to discharge his mandate.
They want Raila to accept that President Ruto is in office legally and stop complaining about last year’s elections.
Bii and Kesses MP Julius Ruto are asking Odinga to move on and lead the opposition in providing checks on the Kenya Kwanza government instead of inciting Kenyans against the President.
“He has to accept that William Ruto is President of Kenya and there is nothing he can do about that at the moment,” Bii said.
“So many months later, it’s pointless for someone to tell us that he does not recognise Ruto as President. Let him be told clearly the President of Kenya is William Samoei Ruto, legally elected by the people,” Bii said.
The governor and President said the region, which overwhelmingly backed Ruto in the last election, had no time for political rallies or protests by Azimio leaders in the country.
“The demonstrations have no benefit to Kenyans who want to move on and deal with the serious economic issues affecting them. We're finished with issues to do with elections and politics and now it’s time for development Bii said.
Bii assured Kenyans that President Ruto’s administration would deal with economic challenges to ease the cost of living.
But a section of Azimio supporters in the region led by Kipchumba Kiptogei and Evans Odhiambo said they fully support the demonstrations.
“As residents of the North Rift region we fully support the demonstrations because we are also Kenyans suffering due to bad governance by the Kenya Kwanza regime,” Kiptogei said.
(Edited by V. Graham)