Raila under fire for joining Ruto in call for dialogue

President William Ruto and Raila stated on Tuesday that the negotiations will begin on Monday, July 15, and go for six days, ending on Saturday, July 20.

To engage the youth, the team will consist of 150 multi-sectoral stakeholders.
On the steps of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Raila declared, “I’m happy to confirm that we had consultations and agreed that dialogue is the way forward out of the crisis that we are facing in the country.” Ruto, DP Rigathi Gachagua, and several other opposition and government leaders, including Kalonzo Musyoka, flanked him.
“We have decided to give people a chance to voice their concerns, be heard, and come forward with issues they have with the state of our nation right now.”
On June 26, Ruto declared the creation of the NMSF in response to weeks of widespread demonstrations led by Generation Z calling for the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, 2024.
The children refused to participate in the negotiations and insisted that the President speak to them on the medium on which they felt most at ease.
On Friday, July 5, the President agreed to appear on X Space and answered questions from an irate group of Generation Z, who among other things charged him of ignoring their grievances.
“I came home thinking that I needed to listen and show more empathy. In his parting words, Ruto stated, “My administration needs more empathy and I have heard you say more action.”
Tuesday morning at the KICC at the signing of the IEBC Amendment Bill, 2024, emerged Raila, who the youth had asked to remain out of the scene while they demanded better governance from the Ruto administration through mass action.
His remarks on the steps of the convention center, “we had consultations and agreed that dialogue is the way forward,” infuriated Generation Z on social media, who swiftly criticized the position.
They claimed that neither political elite speaks for them and that they lack leaders, parties, and tribes.
“Who are we?” They enquired.
“We advised Raila Odinga to take a nap and let us take care of our issues. President William Ruto and I will not be having a conversation. One said, “We know how it ends, and Baba is a prime example of why dialogue never works.”
“Raila, please don’t bring us up during this conversation. Talk about your personal affairs. You don’t speak for us, someone else remarked.
“Until these guys either change or bounce, I will never keep quiet in my life. Sitawahi kaa Kimya maisha yangu.” Go home, Raila, and anguka nayo hiyo (cramble with it). Who is “We”? One asked questions.
“The people are us. Guys, it’s us against the politicians now,” he continued.
Another X user joined him in opposing the dialogue, pointing out that since the disputed elections in 2007, the nation has held dialogues but none of them have produced any concrete results.
He went on to say that having boardroom discussions won’t be enough to resolve the current issue the nation is facing.
“If Raila and Ruto have agreed to speak, you two can talk privately about your issues and whatever you decide on mjiwekee. He declared that conversation “won’t post the medical interns and solve the national debt.”
Since Monday, intern physicians have set up camp at the Ministry of Health headquarters’ gate, demanding payment and assignment.
The posting of 1,210 interns has not been agreed upon by the doctors union and the Ministry of Health.
In order to get their demands addressed, activists Boniface Mwangi counseled the medical professionals to take a cue from well-known activist and current Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and occupy the MoH headquarters on Wednesday.
It was offices that he used to seize, not the gate. Gather the physician corps; we will follow you and take Mafya House in a nonviolent manner. “It’s okay, I’m with Barbara,” he remarked on X.
Mwangi demanded that “handshake politics,” which Raila had entered into talks with the government, be rejected on the grounds that they are never in the best interests of the average Kenyan.
It’s handshake politics that have prevented Kenya from progressing. The entirety of our Constitution is the sole document that needs to be put into effect. Other than the political elite, nobody will benefit from these boardroom agreements. We won’t be manipulated,” he declared.
Mwangi continued, saying that the Gen Z movement is a challenge to the older generation of politicians, who are now finding strength in numbers and speaking the same language.
We now know who stands in the way of development and who seeks to destroy the realities of the new Kenya. Don’t let them play us; instead, watch them play us,” he shouted.
“Millennials and Gen Z are now the ones grabbing initiative. Salutations, Hatupangwingwi. They won’t accept it! One more X user was added.
A few people who live in Raila’s neighborhood, such as Martha Karua, have also called the upcoming talks a trap and thrown cold water on them.
“Only when participants are acting in good faith and with the welfare of the people at heart can a dialogue be considered significant. Without a doubt, this is a trap, declared Karua in a statement.