KISUMU: On Wednesday, Azimio la Umoja protestors in Kisumu interfered with the Communication Authority (CA) meeting held at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga sports complex. The event was presided over by Communication Authority Director General Ezra Chiloba.
Eliud Owalo, the ICT Cabinet Secretary who was supposed to preside over the meeting, failed to show up, so Chiloba stepped in. when protestors barged in, Chiloba had already left after giving a speech. The remaining people started to worry when the protestors marched closer to the tents and the main stage.
Following that, they emptied areas that contained food, water, juices, and other foods. Although the violent protestors yelled anti-Eliud Owalo slogans, service providers rushed to safeguard the safety of their equipment, including tents, chairs, and music systems.
Witnesses claim that the protestors stole things of unknown value and destroyed Communication Authority (CA) property at the event. They even attempted to vandalize Director general Ezra Chiloba’s official vehicle by throwing things at it. Fortunately, Mr. Chiloba and CA representatives and visitors fled without any harm.
Protestors carried sufurias, twigs, and anti-Kenya Kwanza administration signs as they marched to the event. Kenyan leaders, including Kisumu Central MP Joshua Oron and Deputy Governor Dr. Mathew Owili, had organized a protest march from Kondele to the state lodge.
Eliud Owalo, the ICT Cabinet Secretary and the event’s chief guest was the target of the protestors. In support of Rail’s call for widespread protest, Kisumu County leaders declared that they would stage demonstrations on Wednesday and Friday.
The leaders promised to continue their protest against President William Ruto’s administration, adding that there would be one more gathering in the county on Friday, before the march on the 20th, in Nairobi.
The event that the protestors disrupted started with a roundtable discussion centered on the theme of Empowering Customers via Improved Quality of Service and Experience before it was interrupted.
The panelists in the event included Deputy Governor Dr. Mathew Owili, Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya Ezra Chiloba, Director of Customer Experience at Airtel Kenya Goldemier Opiyo, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Safaricom PLC Stephen Kiptinness, and Wananchi Group’s Director of Customer Experience Jane Kebenei.
The Director General spoke to the media before departing for a Governing Council meeting of the African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (AFRALTI) in Ciala.
He met the protestors who snarled the ceremony as he was leaving the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Sports complex. He attended the 65th formal AFRALTI Governing Council meeting, where he urged participants to elevate AFRALTI to the leading institution for ICT capacity-building on the continent.
The World Consumer Day event was successful, according to the Communication Authority. Even though the protestors disrupted the gathering, it got underway with a fruitful morning session, as stated in a statement released on Wednesday by CA’s head of corporate relations, Patricia Muchiri.
The leader of Azimio la Umoja, Raila Odinga, announced last Thursday that he would personally oversee the protests and that they would encompass corporate boycotts, strikes, and sit-ins in government buildings.
Raila has announced that they will have a meeting on March 20. According to him, for legitimate and inclusive administration they will organize some protests in Nairobi. It occurs after President Ruto’s 14-day deadline to address the cost of living. The protest on Wednesday at Kisumu was followed by this announcement.
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On 9th March, Odiinga insisted that the Kenya Kwanza government was unconstitutional while being flanked by the coalition leaders. He also urged supporters to attend the protests.
To force the Ruto-led government out of office, he invited all workers, physicians, nurses, lecturers, teachers, students, and members of the business sector to participate in the mass action.
Odinga declared that mass action would begin from that day and continue for the foreseeable future. He claimed that in addition to strikes, boycotts, and peaceful protests, there will be large-scale demonstrations.
Odinga claims that the widespread protests will come to a head on March 2, 2023, in Nairobi, where all the followers will gather for coordinated demonstrations.
Azimio cites several factors, including the high cost of living, excessive taxes, the failure to open IEBC servers, President William Ruto’s attempt to nominate the IEBC selection panel by himself, and persecution of the four IEBC Commissioners, as the justifications for their mass action.
Creating unconditional and pointless offices that burden the taxpayers and engaging in tribalism in governmental appointments are some examples.
Azimio la Umoja-One Coalition Party is a political party in Kenya led by politician Raila Odinga. It is sometimes known as Azimio la Umoja or just Azimio.
The party was made up of various other parties, including the Jubilee Party, NARC-Kenya, and the Orange Democratic Movement. Uhuru Kenyatta, a former president, is the party’s patron.
In the 2022 Kenyan election, the party ran Raila Odinga as its presidential candidate and Martha Karua as its vice presidential candidate. But they were unsuccessful.
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