Kibra Member of Parliament Peter Orero had cleared former President Uhuru Kenyatta with regards to claims that he has been funding opposition demos.
Allies of President William Ruto have been accusing Uhuru of being behind the protests, suspecting that he is the man bankrolling Azimio La Umoja leader Raila Odinga’s anti-government activities.
But Orero has denied this, saying that since he was sworn into office, after which he has been closely working with Raila, he has not seen Uhuru’s involvement in the protests.
He has said that it is actually Kenyans who have been making the protests a success by coming out to protest when called upon by the former Prime Minister, because of the things Ruto’s government is putting them through.
“The people willingly come out during protests because of the kind of life they are currently living. So when they come and say that the former president was sponsoring maandamano, those are hearsay that cannot be proved beyond any reasonable doubt,” the parliamentarian said on Wednesday.
He has also asked those criticizing Raila for how he is handling matters in his own fold to keep off, telling them that he does not need their opinion.
Orero has held that Raila does not even need sponsorship to hold demos in the first place and has, therefore, not been asking for any.
“It should go on record that Raila is the leader of a party that has structures. If he comes out today and says there will be maandamano, he doesn’t need Uhuru’s sponsorship,” the MP is quoted by The Star.This comes a day after Raila warned of looming fresh protests, while complaining that the bipartisan talks initiated by himself and Ruto seem to be making no progress.
Earlier on Monday, he said that fresh demos will begin in 14 days, unless the three issues he has raised, which include lowering of the cost of living, are addressed within the given timeframe.
