Senator Edwin Sifuna of Nairobi has reprimanded people who are criticizing ODM leader Raila Odinga for consenting to meet with President William Ruto for a national dialogue.
Sifuna stated in an interview with Standard that Raila leads people, and that group of people is what he will represent at the national dialogue that Ruto announced on Tuesday.
“Raila is not going to represent Gen Z. Gen Z have said they are leaderless and Raila is not their leader. But there are people Baba (Raila) leads. Not everyone is leaderless and partyless. I have a party and I am the Secretary General of that party (ODM),” Sifuna said.
He continued by saying that Raila will represent party members in the conversation.
“We can’t sit as leaders and keep quiet as things happen in the country. Gen Z did their Space (X Spaces) with the president, did you see Sifuna or Raila there? No. So Raila is a leader to some people and those are the people he is going to represent, not everyone is leaderless,” Sifuna continued.
When Raila and Ruto decided to have a six-day national forum to address urgent issues, including the recent concerns expressed by Generation Z regarding Ruto’s governance, Raila came under fire on Tuesday.
Kenyans criticized him harshly on social media, accusing him of betraying the demands of the populace for better governance and reform. Others reminded him that he does not speak for or represent them.
Ruto’s administration has recently infuriated many Kenyans, and they expected the opposition leader to stand with them, even as he seeks government backing to become the chairperson of the AU Commission.
Deadly protests rocked Ruto’s government, particularly when parliament approved the contentious Finance Bill 2024, which aimed to tax Kenyans more heavily.
