Nairobi — Azimio Leader Raila Odinga has called on the Catholic Church to join forces with him in his pursuit of finding the "truth" on what transpired during the August 2022 elections.

Odinga made the plea on Saturday in a statement that was in response to the Catholic Bishops' stance that his demonstrations were "violent, unconstitutional, and uncalled for".

The former Prime Minister however disagreed with the "church's characterization of the public protests" noting that they have always been peaceful and faulted the police for the ensuing violence.

"We hope that the church will join Kenyans in seeking to establish the truth about last year's elections by scrutinizing the servers in the best interests of the nation," Odinga said.

Odinga invited the Catholic Church "to partner with Kenyans in calling on the State to respect section 37 of the Constitution".

"Every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and present petitions to public authorities," he said.

He maintained that the opening of the servers will set the record straight on who won the election.

"The core doctrine of Christianity, which is a belief in the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, guides the push for a forensic audit," he said.

Azimio coalition on March 20, 2023, launched anti-government protests premised on the issues of the election and the high cost of living.

For straight two weeks, the coalition staged protests in Nairobi that degenerated into violence. Odinga later suspended them after President Ruto invited them for talks via parliament.

Odinga who has since threatened to call for fresh demonstrations wants the process to be extra-parliamentary.

A fourteen-member committee, consisting of seven members from the Kenya Kwanza Alliance and the Azimio team, will begin talks on electoral reforms and other issues that may arise.

The Co-Chairs of the parliamentary bi-partisan team met on April 20, 2023, and resolved to develop separate frameworks that will guide the talks.