Boniface Mwangi: Raila has lost moral authority to lead protests
Activist Boniface Mwangi has stated that former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has lost the credibility and moral authority to lead public protests in Kenya.
In a statement on Monday, July 7, 2025, Mwangi acknowledged Odinga’s historic role in Kenya’s pro-democracy struggles but accused him of betraying that legacy over the decades.
You might also like
“Raila Odinga claims to be the father of Saba Saba. We won’t dispute that, but since the 1980s, he has shifted from liberator to traitor,” he said.
Additionally, he stated that Odinga’s former comrades, jailed, tortured, and exiled for championing multiparty democracy, still have unresolved court-awarded compensation claims that successive governments have ignored.
According to Mwangi, Odinga has never prioritised justice or reparations for those who suffered alongside him.
Odinga
Mwangi also took issue with Odinga’s political alliances, accusing him of negotiating power and privileges with the same regimes responsible for the deaths and disappearances of his supporters.
“He has lost many supporters in street protests since the 1990s but never made their justice and compensation a condition for joining the governments of Moi, Kibaki, Uhuru, and Ruto,” he said.
Mwangi argued that Odinga has lost control of the streets, with a new generation of bold and digitally savvy Gen Z activists leading a fresh wave of protests, independent of traditional political figures.
He further alleged that the ODM Party’s recent move to have MP Esther Passaris table a bill to restrict demonstrations reflects the party’s fear of a rising, uncontrollable protest movement.
“The old man has lost credibility, respect, and the monopoly on calling protests, as courageous Gen Zs now own the streets. ODM has instructed Passaris to introduce a bill to ban protests because Raila has lost his street protest negotiation power. Today, Raila Odinga dines with those who abduct and kill us,” he said.
This comes as the country commemorates the July 7, 1990, nationwide protests that erupted to demand the reintroduction of a multi-party political system, in opposition to the authoritarian one-party rule of President Daniel arap Moi.
Despite a government ban and the arrest of key pro-democracy figures like Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia, thousands defied the crackdown, leading to violent confrontations with police that resulted in numerous deaths, injuries, and detentions, ultimately forcing the repeal of Section 2A of the Constitution in 1991 and paving the way for democratic reforms.
