Raila Odinga calls for boycott of Safaricom, KCB, protests twice a week

Raila Odinga addressing supporters during anti-government protest in Mathare slum in Nairobi on March 20, 2023. PHOTO | AFP

Azimio La Umoja One Kenya leader Raila Odinga has called on its supporters to shun services and products from telecom Safaricom, KCB bank, and media company Radio Africa.

He said the opposition action against the corporates was because of their alleged affiliation with the Kenya Kwanza administration.

“We call for the boycott of Safaricom, Kenya Commercial Bank and Radio Africa media, particularly The Star newspaper, who have become enablers and facilitators of this brutal regime,” Mr Odinga said.

The opposition leader also announced that anti-government protests would now take place twice a week – Mondays and Thursdays, from next week. Mr Odinga said this was in response to public demand.

On Monday, opposition supporters engaged the police in running battles in protests in Nairobi and Kisumu that saw at least two people shot, one fatally and hundreds of others arrested.

Nairobi’s city centre remained deserted, with premises such as banks and supermarket chains staying shut as anti-riot police pushed back the protesters attempting to access the CBD.

Read: Business bears brunt of protests as stock market indifferent

Organisers of the protests against the Kenya Kwanza administration say they want to address the runaway cost of living while terming the government ‘illegitimate’.

“Fellow Kenyans, in the second phase of our protest, and in response to public demand, we shall now hold the protests every Monday and Thursday beginning next week,” Mr Odinga announced Tuesday while addressing journalists at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation in Nairobi.

He was accompanied by his co-Azimio principals, Martha Karua and Kalonzo Musyoka. Other leaders included Eugene Wamalwa, Wycliffe Oparanya and Edwin Sifuna. They lauded the media for live coverage of Monday’s anti-State protests.

Mr Odinga demanded for unconditional release of those arrested during the protests and for police who shot at protestors to held to account.

“…there was also an attempt on my life as well as Kalonzo Musyoka as the police shot at our cars,” he said.

“[President William] Ruto seeks to return Kenya to the old dictatorship. We have put together a team of security and legal experts to determine the orders given by police that led to the brutality.”

“We are going for individual responsibility and culpability for individual police officers starting with Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei as a first example.”