Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has urged Kenyans to gather at Kamukunji Grounds on Monday, July 7, 2025, to mark the anniversary of the historic Saba Saba protests.

Speaking to the press on Sunday, July 6, 2025, Raila said that Saba Saba Day is not a day for protests and demonstrations but a day to remember those who lost their lives fighting for Kenyans.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader further said that the best way to commemorate Saba Saba is by going to the historic ground and not on the streets.

“Saba Saba was a very noble idea. Saba Saba was meant to bring the people together for a common cause, which was change, and we decided to go to Kamukunji grounds, which is a historical ground. This is where the last Kenyan African Union meeting was held in 1952 before the declaration of the state of emergency,” Raila said.

“Kamukunji has historical meaning, which is why we want to go there. If you want to remember Saba Saba, then we will go to Kamukunji. I always go to Kamukunji on Saba Saba Day to remember the people who lost their lives, so my idea would be we go to Kamukunji tomorrow, and if you are talking about protesting, where is this protest going to start, and where is it going to? My view would be that the road should lead to Kamukunji.”

He added that at the Kamukunji grounds, people will meet and pass a resolution.

“People will meet in Kamukunji and pass a resolution. This is what we want, the Kenya we want to be. That will be the best way to remember people who have died fighting for the rights of the people of Kenya,” he added.

Raila on Saba Saba Day

During the same presser, Raila disclosed the same grounds where pro-democracy activists gathered 35 years ago to demand multiparty democracy during the late President Daniel Moi’s regime.

“We have not achieved what Saba Saba intended,” he said. “Violation of human rights is still a challenge in the country, police brutality is there, and the economy has not performed as we expected. Saba Saba was meant to bring people together for a common cause: change.” Raila said.

“Saba Saba Saba Day is not a day for protests and demonstrations; it is the day to remember those who lost their lives during the clamour for political pluralism at the historic Kamkunji grounds on the 7/7/1990. The idea of 7/7 was mooted by me together with Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia.”

The spirit of 7/7 pic.twitter.com/WwdZcJPEw9

— Philip Etale (@EtalePhilip) July 6, 2025