Nairobi — Azimio leader Raila Odinga is set to hold a major public rally at Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi, the first in a series of meetings lined up by the Opposition.
Odinga, who has been holding consultative meetings with grassroots leaders, announced last week that he will be updating his supporters on his next move during Sunday's rally.
A schedule released by the Azimio communications team said Odinga and other leaders will first attend a church service an St Stephen's ACK church on Jogoo Road before heading to Kamukunji grounds for the rally.
"We have listened to you in these forum that we should continue with dialogue even as we stage demonstrations. We will continue with demonstrations and we will announce when the protest will be held after the Ramadhan period," he said.
At the beginning of the month, Odinga called off the demonstrations to give room for dialogue between the two opposing sides.
Odinga's plan to resume rallies and protests has thrown the planned bipartisan talks proposed by President William Ruto into disarray.
The two leaders are locked in a tussle on the reconstitution of the electoral commissioners which the president has said will only happen through bipartisan talks in Parliament.
But even though both sides have nominated their loyal members to take part in the talks, Odinga insists he wants the initiative expanded to be extra-parliamentary akin to the 2007/08 mediation talks led by former UN Secretary-General, the late Kofi Annan who led a political deal that got former President Mwai Kibaki to share power with Odinga who had disputed election results.
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The dispute led to the worst political crisis in Kenya after deadly violence that left more than 1,100 people dead and half a million others displaced.
"The bipartisan talks will continue hand in hand with the street protests," Odinga declared earlier this week, "the other side [of Ruto] is not sincere and therefore we will have to tackle them but resuming the demonstrations."
Similar protests last month in Nairobi and Kisumu left at least three people dead including a police officer.
Property of unknown value was also destroyed in the two cities.
President Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua have warned the Opposition against leading violent protests, but vowed of tough action should they degenerate into chaos.
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