Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna on Wednesday, June 21, hinted that Azimio la Umoja is gearing up to hit the streets after the controversial Finance Bill was passed in Parliament.
In an interview with Radio Citizen, Sifuna regretted that the political formation led by Raila Odinga made an unsuccessful attempt to oppose the bill in Parliament. As a result, their only remaining option was to call for mass protests.
The legislator further remarked that unlike in the past, the return of mass protests would see thousands of Kenyans take to the streets regardless of their political affiliations.
“The voice of the people is the voice of God and it is more powerful than that of their representatives,” he reiterated.
In previous instances, when Azimio la Umoja organized demonstrations to protest against the high cost of living, that saw a substantial turnout, the demos were predominantly concentrated in opposition strongholds.
Sifuna noted that the second wave of protests would have a national outlook since every Kenyan would feel the pinch of the high cost of living due to increased taxation.
“It is humiliating for any Kenyan to wake up to borrow Ksh100 to make ends meet. If this is the true situation, I want to see a reflection of that anger when we go for these demos,” he remarked.
The Nairobi senator noted that mass action was the only way President William Ruto’s government will listen to the grievances of Kenyans.
“There is no other way the government can listen. We saw that the Arab Spring protests which rocked several countries were sparked by a rise in the price of bread.
“They (Kenya Kwanza) deceived us that they were ready for dialogue. I explained we must first negotiate on the high cost of living,” Sifuna added.
He revealed that the Kenya Kwanza side of the bipartisan talks failed to honour the meetings and on the seldom times they showed up, they were not keen on tackling issues affecting Kenyans.
“They would come to the meetings late and it was clear they lacked instructions from their superiors on what to do,” he explained.
Sifuna added that the mass protests would be voluntary and those happy with the government could stay at home.
The Finance Bill, passed on Wednesday, June 21, proposed increased taxation to raise revenues the government argued it needed to fund development projects.
Some of the proposed taxes include; a 16 per cent Value Added Tax on fuel, a Housing Fund tax and a Withholding Tax for content creators.
