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Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga on Friday, July 7, 2023, launched a signature collection campaign whose aim, the opposition supremo says, is to remove President William Ruto from office.

Addressing a Saba Saba rally at Kamukunji Grounds in Nairobi, the former prime minister said the coalition targets 10 million signatures by next Friday, July 14.

The decision, Raila says, was necessitated by the government’s failure to address the opposition’s grievances including punitive taxes, high cost of living, electoral fraud and biased recruitment of electoral commissioners.

The opposition has in recent months protested against the ongoing recruitment of the commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), saying it is an attempt by the Head of State to constitute an electoral body that will favour his re-election bid in 2027.

At the same time, Raila vowed to lead a procession of supporters from Kamkunji Grounds to Central Park despite an earlier warning from the police that no protests would be allowed in the Nairobi Central Business District.

“There are many ways to reach ‘Rome’, when they block one road, we use another. Today, our ‘Rome’ is called Central Park, that is where we shall meet after the Kamukunji rally,” Raila told his supporters on Friday.

“We will just match peacefully saying we are tired,” he stated.

Several other Azimio principals including Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka are leading protests in various parts of the country.

Saba Saba protests

The opposition intends to use today’s Saba Saba protests to force the Kenya Kwanza administration to repeal the Finance Act 2023, which recently introduced additional taxes.

“Ruto is imposing taxes without our consent and implementing laws that only make our lives more difficult. We cannot tolerate the current state of taxation and its accompanying injustices any longer.

“Ruto has even removed subsidies on essential goods like fuel, Unga (maize flour), electricity, and school fees, while providing subsidies to helicopter owners and financing the lavish lifestyles of his allies with our hard-earned money,” Raila said last Tuesday while inviting Kenyans to join the anti-government demonstrations.

Saba Saba Day is commemorated on July 7 of every year to reflect on Kenya’s struggle for multi-party democracy in the early 1990s, popularly known as the ‘Second Liberation’.