Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who is also the Secretary General of the ODM party, has defended Raila Odinga's involvement in the planned six-day multi-sectoral dialogue talks with the Government.
The talks were convened by President William Ruto after weeks of street protests in which GenZs have demanded a raft of changes in his government, with a notice to quit if he fails to implement them.
After signing the Finance Bill 2024 at KICC where he was accompanied by Raila and other political leaders, Ruto said an all-inclussive dialogue is the only way out to get out of the current crisis.
The new unity has touched off fury among the youth online who described a group photo of the leaders after the ceremony as "Kenya's problems in one photo" and asked Odinga to stay away.
Senator Sifuna has now come out to stress that Odinga is not representing Gen Zs in these talks but is rather participating as a leader of his party and representing the people he leads. "Not all people are party-less; we also have a stake in this nation. Hence, we can't sit as leaders and watch things happening in Kenya without involvement," he stated.
He also clarified that they were not part of the recent Gen Z and President's Xspace discussion, and thus, Gen Z should not criticize Raila's participation in the dialogue.
The proposed dialogue was agreed upon when President Ruto assembled political leaders, including longtime Opposition leader Raila Odinga, for the Bill signing ceremony on Tuesday. This move has further angered Gen Z members, who feel betrayed by the ruling elite.
Online Gen Z activists, like Anini, have articulated that previous dialogues have yielded no tangible outcomes and have urged Raila to stay out of them as Kenyans are not ready for ineffective talks.
Among the leaders who have dismissed the talks is Martha Karua, who termed the proposed talks as a "trap" and warned that the process could be hijacked by the political class seeking to benefit from the Gen Z's call for reforms. Eugene Wamalwa and Jeremiah Kioni have also expressed their opposition to the talks.
During the protests, more than 40 protesters were shot dead by police, and at least 300 others were injured, further fueling anger against the government.
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