Opposition leader Raila Odinga launched a campaign of defiance and civil disobedience on Tuesday to deny President William Ruto’s administration taxes.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leader announced that on Saba Saba (July 7), the coalition will hold another rally at Nairobi’s Kamukunji Grounds to unveil a plan for nationwide civil disobedience to force the Kenya Kwanza regime to respect the people and repeal the Finance Act 2023.
Mr Odinga accused the President of betraying Kenyans by signing the Finance Bill into law while speaking at a rally at the Kamukunji grounds.
“We are asserting our sovereignty. Civil disobedience begins with personal action. We begin today, and we will continue progressively, discreetly, and publicly, culminating in the official start of massive countrywide demonstrations,” said Mr Odinga.
He went on: “We embark on a campaign of defiance and civil disobedience that will take different forms at different times, including refusal to pay taxes, and whose aim is to force Mr William Ruto to respect the people and repeal the Finance Act 2023.”
The meeting on Tuesday also decided to call an end to the bipartisan talks between the opposition and the government. Following “the imposition of punitive taxes on Kenyans,” DAP-K party leader Eugene Wamalwa said after reading the resolutions.
Mr Wamalwa was speaking hours after President Ruto’s seven-member negotiating team asked Azimio to return to the negotiating table, with the issue of electoral commissioner recruitment at the top of the agenda.
Kenya Kwanza stated that if the talks do not resume on July 4, the selection panel for Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners will resume work.
Ms Karua accused the administration of President Ruto of declaring war on Kenyans.
“The Republic of Kenya has ceased to exist as we know it, and in its place is a colonial, exploitative regime that we must oppose,” Ms Karua said.
The coalition resolved to embark on a mass signature collection to signal the withdrawal of “our sovereignty from officials of this regime, including Mr William Ruto and all elected leaders who supported the Finance Act 2023”.
“We recognise and appreciate the efforts that members of civil society are making to free Kenya from the despotic Kenya Kwanza administration and will pursue collaboration for the sake of the nation,” said Mr Wamalwa.
The coalition also condemned what it called President Ruto’s and his regime’s disrespect for the media.
“In a democracy, few individuals cannot use government as their tool against the people. The idea that only the wishes of Ruto and Gachagua matter in this country today must attract a very heavy price.
“Ruto is testing the limits of his illegitimate power. Ruto is testing whether we still have the will, energy, and resolve to fight the remnants of a dictatorship. After stealing our election last year, Ruto now thinks he can steal anything and get away with it. We have to stop Ruto, and we have to do it now,” Mr Odinga charged.
He called for tax boycotts to deny the government the fuel tax “by limiting consumption of petrol and diesel”.
“One way to do this is to carpool. Let us arrange to make regular journeys in a single vehicle whenever possible. Give each other a ride. Cut down on non-essential travel. Walk instead of driving whenever possible,” he said.
Mr Odinga appealed to employers to allow their workers time to walk to and from work and called on public transport owners to “maintain the current fare but double your carrying capacity as part of the civil disobedience”. “Our police officers should support our call by allowing matatus to carry above capacity at current cost so that Kenyans can commute,” he said.
For business owners, Mr. Odinga urged them to disable or avoid Electronic Tax Registers, make nil returns on VAT, and instead give discounts to customers. “This way, we shall recover the VAT Ruto is taking illegally through fuel.”
Mr Odinga also called on employers to ignore the punitive deductions from employees’ salaries that he said would only line the pockets of “Ruto’s strategically placed cronies”.
Saying the government was driving Kenyans off the roads with high fuel prices, he asked Kenyans to deny government vehicles and motorcades the right of way.
The Azimio leader further called on Kenyans to picket the public and private offices and homes of “the men and women who visited this unjust law on us.