Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has urged the police to cancel the planned political rally by the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition at Kamukunji Grounds on Friday, July 7, 2023.

Ahead of the rally, a number of violent confrontations have been witnessed, especially on major highways within Nairobi, and it is against the backdrop of this that the Senator asks the police to intervene and cancel the event altogether.

Thika Road chaos

“The acts of lawlessness reported along Thika Road are equivalent to economic sabotage.

“The acts of hooliganism, violence, and intimidation are signatures of the Azimio-OKA/Tinga and Uhuru demos. If need be, the police should cancel the Maandamanos and deal ruthlessly with lawbreakers, including arresting organizers,” Cherargei said in a statement.

Although the opposition has maintained that their rallies are going to be peaceful, confrontations between the police and their supporters are expected. 

The July 7 demonstration has been planned to begin an official campaign of civil disobedience against the Kenya Kwanza government.

Raila Odinga is expected to launch the signature collection at Kamukunji, where he is expected to lead the opposition meeting. The police, on the other hand, maintained that the only rally allowed is the one planned in Kamukunji and that a spillover of the event will not be allowed at the city centre.

“I can say that Azimio has followed due process in convening the meeting at Kamukunji grounds, and we want to inform members of the public that they have applied for a baraza meeting and not a demonstration as people are talking.

“We have only legalized the Kamukunji meeting, and we will not allow any other meeting anywhere else. It will be a working day, and at the baraza in Kamukunji we will provide security, and there is no cause for alarm,” Nairobi Regional Police boss Adamson Bungei told the media.

Azimio leaders

Apart from Odinga, the coalition’s top leadership, including Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua, and DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa, are expected to lead the demonstrations. Jubilee secretary general Jeremiah Kioni, George Wajackoya, and Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria, former Murang’a Governor, are also expected to feature heavily.

Although Nairobi is expected to witness a large and heightened rally, other cities, including Mombasa and Kisumu, are expected to be rocked by opposition supporters and local leaders leading parallel demonstrations.

Civil societies in the coastal town – under the umbrella of the Coast Civil Society Movement – have been allowed to hold their rallies.