The opposition Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party has pledged to continue pressuring the government through legal action and other means, with the goal of addressing the public’s suffering or enabling people to take action against the regime.
This commitment was made during a high-level summit meeting of the coalition chaired by veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday. “The summit is committed to seek other ways to press the government to listen to the cries of the people,” the coalition said in a statement. “The litigation will only be one avenue. Other ways are being worked on whose ultimate aim is to force the regime to be sensitive to the tribulations of the people.”
Azimio accused the government of worsening the cost of living through “ever rising and reckless taxes” and “the collapsing national currency.” The leaders said the summit was “extremely disturbed” by this as well as by “the return of mega corruption.”
The summit meeting reviewed the coalition’s activities in 2023, which, according to the statement, said “were able to focus lights on the excesses of the Kenya Kwanza regime that have made life miserable for the greater majority of Kenyans.”
The Azimio leaders expressed satisfaction that the coalition had held the government “to account and to put blame where it belongs.” But stressed: “We will stand in solidarity with the petitioners in the public litigation cases.”
Among the issues the litigation aims to address are “threats to the foundations of our attempts to create a multi-party democracy” as well as “unilateral actions” by the state, the statement said.
The summit also discussed strengthening the unity of the broad Azimio coalition as well as its various constituent parties. The Azimio leaders said unity “is an achievement the coalition will guard jealously.”
The leaders said all partners are “pursuing a common programme of action” to address Kenya’s challenges and defend democracy.
The meeting comes as living costs continue to rise under President William Ruto’s administration, which took office last year after a bitterly fought election. The government blames global factors for the economic pressures.
The leaders insisted at the summit: “The cost of living as a government induced pain is understood to be a direct result of Ruto’s policies and not any global environment or the previous regime.”
