Kenyan Protests: "Speak To The People And Not At The People" Kenyatta Tells Ruto
Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged his successor and former Deputy, William Ruto, to listen to the concerns of Kenyans following days of riots across the country that have left several people dead.
“Speak to the people and not at the people” Kenyatta exhorted the Ruto-led administration.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Kenyatta said citizens have a right to protest and leaders have a duty to listen.
Kenyatta called on the Kenyan government to desist from unleashing violence on protestors but rather to engage them. He said:
I come to you with a heavy heart. Saddened by the loss of lives occasioned by the current situation prevailing in our country.
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play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.zw.pindula.newsIt is the right of every Kenyan to protest as determined by the constitution we all promulgated in 2010. It is also the duty of leaders to listen to those they lead.
At this trying time for our Country, I want to remind all leaders that they were elected by the people.
Listening to the people is not a choice but a mandate enshrined in the principles of our constitution and in the very basis and philosophy of democracy.
Leaders must know that power and authority they have is donated to them by the people.
I therefore call for calm and for the leadership to show restraint and do the right thing by listening to the people and not be antagonistic to them. Violence on either side is not the answer.
As your former President, I have felt the weight and the difficulty of leading Kenya. I therefore pray for wisdom and civility to be established and for peace and progress to belong to all of us as children of Kenya.
Dear Kenyans, I stand with you and I ask our leadership to embrace dialogue and SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE AND NOT AT THE PEOPLE.
I pray for peace and understanding on the part of each and every Kenyan and for all of us to remember that Kenya is bigger than one of us; there is nothing cast in stone that cannot be changed.
Kenya has been rocked by massive protests for over a week after the government proposed legislation that would raise taxes.
Thousands of protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament on Tuesday, burning parts of the building while Members of Parliament, who had passed the Finance Bill 2024, ran away from the house.
Police responded with gunfire, and several protesters were killed. More than 100 people were injured in Tuesday’s protests, according to civil society groups.
On Wednesday, police and soldiers patrolled the streets as city workers began cleaning up debris. Parliament, the city hall, and the Supreme Court were cordoned off with tape reading “Crime Scene Do Not Enter.”
Soldiers were deployed overnight to support police as Ruto called the events treasonous and vowed to quash the unrest “at whatever cost.”
Meanwhile, The Star reported that Ruto has declined to sign the Finance Bill, 2024, into law.
The publication cited State House sources as saying the Bill will be sent back to Parliament before lawmakers break for recess.
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