Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga on Friday threatened to lead Kenyans in boycotting products from some companies aligned with the government.
Addressing a rally in Migori county, the opposition chief said some of the companies were being “misused” by President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration, which he insists did not win last year’s presidential election.
He said the coalition will next week issue a notice detailing the companies targeted even as he put Kenya’s leading telecommunications company, Safaricom, and the media on notice over the impending economic boycott.
“Safaricom inatumiwa vibaya sana na hawa watu. Week ijayo tutatoa notice kwao. Week ijayo tutaambia nyinyi vile tutafanya na Safaricom. Kuna Kampuni kadhaa ambazo tunajua zinatumiwa vibaya na hawa watu. Tutawaambia hiyo kampuni muache hii chakula muache hii gazeti msinunue hii redio msisikize. Hayo yote yanakuja. Kuna bidhaa kadhaa. Makao yetu makuu yatatoa taarifa,” Raila said.
Loosely translated: “Safaricom is being misused by these people. We shall issue a notice next week of what we will do with the companies that are being misused by the State. We shall tell you which food, newspapers and radio to boycott. Our office will release a statement.”
Raila spoke a day after he called for mass action to protest against the high cost of living and alleged electoral injustice in the country.
“We launch a campaign of defiance, peaceful protests and demonstrations. It begins today and now. We urge the victims of the retrogressive policies of this illegitimate regime to join this political revolution. We are stronger together,” he said at a press conference in Nairobi yesterday.
Raila on Friday said he gave the Kenya Kwanza administration two weeks to address the high cost of living in the country, have servers of the country’s electoral commission opened and include all stakeholders in recruiting new commissioners but the demands were ignored.
“But he refused to talk and went ahead to gazette a commission for the new IEBC team, we feel he wants to talk directly to Kenyans soon,” he said.
Raila’s running mate in the last presidential election Martha Karua maintained that Ruto’s government was in power illegitimately, saying Azimio’s call for mass action was justified.
“Ruto is keen on buying everybody including legislators we will bring to him people he can’t buy,” Karua said.
