Raila Junior Reacts to Reports That His Father is Mobilising Protests

Raila Odinga Junior, the son of Azimio leader Raila Odinga, has dismissed reports that his father was mobilizing anti-government protests.  

On Tuesday, July 16, blogger Abraham Mutai took to his X account to allege that the former Prime Minister was rallying the Gen Z demonstrations. 

Mutai urged the youth to keep off the streets, claiming that Raila had mobilised his supporters from the slums to hit the streets.

"Raila Odinga is one of the key mobilizers for today’s demos. He has activated his slum supporters. Gen Zs keep off the streets. This is not an elder statesman anymore," Mutai alleged. 

However, in a quick response, Raila Junior refuted the claims saying, "Rubbish. The people shall."

His remarks come even as President William Ruto accused the Ford Foundation of sponsoring the recent anti-government protests in Kenya. 

“Those who are behind the sponsoring of chaos in Kenya, shame on them because they are sponsoring violence against our democratic nation. I want to ask the people at the Ford Foundation, what do they gain from giving out money to cause violence?" Ruto posed. 

However, the Ford Foundation denied the claims, noting that they have a rich history of commitment to ensuring the independence of East Africa's institutions. 

“We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill and have a strictly non-partisan policy for all of our grantmaking," read part of a statement by Ford Foundation.

Meanwhile, the situation in Nairobi CBD remained calm on Tuesday morning, with a heavy presence of anti-riot police around the area.

However, in some parts of the country, including Kisii and Nyamira towns, protestors had already hit the streets.