I resisted pressure from supporters to storm State House, says Raila

Cord leader Raila Odinga has said he resisted pressure from his supporters to lead them in storming State House on May 31 to express their displeasure at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.

In a closed-door session with Nairobi County Assembly members affiliated to Cord at City Hall on Wednesday, Mr Odinga said he realised that after the Uhuru Park rally two weeks ago, his supporters were very disappointed because he failed to “tell them what they wanted to hear”.

“There were immense calls on me to ask them to march forth in their numbers to State House. They were very disappointed when I didn’t. I could see this also in the placards they were waving, some written “what next from here Baba?” he said.

He said that his reluctance to make such a declaration was informed by “wisdom”.

“We can’t be reckless in what we say. The kind of pressure we put on the government is meant to wake them up and serve the people better. They must serve the people and stop the haemorrhage currently going on in almost all sectors. This is not a favour we are asking for, it is the right of the people,” he said.

Cord is calling for dialogue with the government, saying the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Mr Odinga delved at length on what is required of each ward representative ahead of the July 7 Uhuru Park rally, the culmination of rallies the Opposition is is holding countrywide.

“You must mobilise people from all wards in the city because we want to make our voice heard,” he said.

Nairobi Majority Leader Elias Otieno said: “You have our word on that ‘Baba’, just like during your homecoming rally, we will see to it that Uhuru Park is full to capacity. We don’t need to pay wananchi to come because they do so voluntarily.”

“The event is better coordinated in cells or committees,” Mr Odinga advised. Also, Mr Odinga said that only one politician will address Cord supporters on Saba Saba day. “We will have one person each talking on behalf of workers, business community, the civil society, women, youth and religious groupings. Only one politician will talk,” he said.

He warned his opponents against writing him off, saying the thousands of people who turned up to welcome him from the US was a show that Cord still enjoys immense following.