Nairobi — The Central Organization Trade Union (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has urged President William Ruto to focus on service delivery saying those engaged in the anti-government protest are jobless individuals.
Atwoli who accompanied President Ruto on his development tour in Bungoma County stated that those agitating for demonstrations are 2022 election losers who have no office.
"Demonstrations are for those who are jobless. Some of us like Otuoma and Atwoli and the rest who have an office when elections were concluded we went back to the office," he stated.
"Those involved in demonstration have no office like Kalonzo, Karua, Wamalwa and Raila.Lets leave protests for those without office," said Atwoli.
The COTU boss intimated that the 2027 presidential contest is a given victory for President Ruto arguing if the Opposition failed to defeat President Ruto in the last general election despite state backing then 2027 polls will be an uphill task.
"I know we alienated you in the 2022 general election and you successfully managed to defeat us even though we had the sitting President and the State. How then can we defeat you in the 2027 general election?"Atwoli posed.
This comes even as Ichung'wah 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.
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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.
