• Raila's two-week deadline for mass action lapses today
• Raila is demanding the reintroduction of subsidies and the opening of the election servers
Raila Odinga's two-week deadline for mass action comes to an end today.
From today, Raila plans to hold mass demonstrations to protest the high cost of living and the allegedly rigged presidential election of August 2022.
He wants to make the country ungovernable but chances are that most people (apart for his hard-core supporters in Kisumu and informal settlements) have no interest in destabilising Kenya.
For most people, these mass demos are premature because it is only six months since William Ruto became President and the sharp rise in the cost of living is largely due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Raila is fully aware that the government cannot afford to bring back the food and fuel subsidies introduced by President Kenyatta. Indeed the Ruto government is still struggling to clear the backlog of those subsidies. Although people are suffering, they are also aware that price rises are due to international conditions rather than local policies.
Raila risk discrediting himself if his mass demos are a flop. The timing is wrong. He should wait at least a year before trying to topple the government.
Quote of the day: "What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?"
Adam Smith
The Scottish economist published The Wealth of Nations on March 9, 1776