Nairobi — National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah has dared Azimio leader Raila Odinga to go ahead and restart street protests if his objective is to resort to blackmail during the bipartisan discussions with the Kenya Kwanza alliance.

Leading the five-member delegation of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance in the negotiations, Ichung'wah cautioned that they would disengage from the talks should even the faintest trace of blackmail emerge from the Odinga team.

"Raila can resume protests if he so wishes even tomorrow because we have made it clear that will not take any blackmail. The police will however deal with him if he chooses the protest route," he said.

Expressing dedication to the negotiations with the aspiration that they will address several of the nation's issues and curtail violence, Ichungw'ah emphasized that the practice of leveraging blackmail for political gain in the country will be obsolete.

The Kikuyu Member of Parliament further underscored that the era of Raila utilizing blackmail to attain state power following an electoral loss will be over.

"We shall engage with you and your people only if you do not blackmail the people of Kenyans using violence. If you have a pre-determined outcome things will not work out that way," he said.

President William Ruto of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Odinga have both sanctioned the discussions, which have the objective of tackling some of the enduring issues in the country.

Nonetheless, Ichung'wah cautioned the Azimio team that their choice to participate was not influenced by "a point of weakness" but rather by the goal of guaranteeing that violence becomes a component of "Kenya's history rather than its future."

He emphasized that discussions about power-sharing are not on the agenda for the upcoming talks set to recommence this week.

On August 30, 2023, Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who leads the Azimio team, and Ichungw'ah will convene to review the agenda document that will steer the course of the talks.

Musyoka conveyed that the national dialogue technical team of the committee had effectively compiled the matters into a single document, which the dialogue team had mutually endorsed.