Opposition leader Raila Odinga has continued his vicious onslaught on President William Ruto accusing him of dictatorship.
Speaking at the Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi on Tuesday, moments after arriving in the country from Poland, the Azimio leader slammed President Ruto for assenting the controversial 2023 Finance Bill into law despite calls by members of the public to dismiss it in its entirety.
According to Raila, Ruto’s actions amount to tyranny, abuse of executive power and violation of human rights.
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“In the run-up to the vote of the Bill, more than 90 percent of Kenyans rejected it. However true to his character as a dictator, Ruto proceeded as if Kenyans had not spoken and he imposed punitive taxes on us without our consent,” said Raila.
“Ruto is testing the limits of his illegitimate power; he is testing whether we still have the will, energy and resolve to fight remnants of dictatorship. He still thinks that he can steal anything and get away with it. We have to stop Ruto and we have to do it now.”
Raila also urged his supporters and loyalists to boycott Ruto’s government through civil disobedience, further noting that Kenyans, should among other things, snub paying taxes.
“We the people are supreme, through civil disobedience we will deny Ruto the taxes he thinks he can extort from us by force. Let us embrace tax boycotts,” he said.
The former premier added that Kenyans should turn out in large numbers from Friday next week and boycott the Ruto administration further noting that democratic solidarity is key in combating dictatorship.
“This gathering must provide an unmistakable response to Ruto and those who think like him, that we are willing to do whatever it takes to fight dictatorship. It must make it clear that the dictators will pay an unfortunate price for their dictatorship experiment,” he said.
“Ruto and his administration are going to learn the hard way that Kenyans are fed up but not helpless.”
