No longer at ease in Nairobi: Raila keeps street protest option open

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga addressing his supporters in Nairobi’s Pipeline Estate on March 30, 2023 as he led mass demonstrations. A surprise truce between Kenya’s President William Ruto and Odinga has helped defuse the political tension that had built up. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

A surprise truce between Kenya’s President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga last week has helped defuse the political tension that had built up in the country after two weeks of mass protests called by the opposition to push for a lower cost of living and electoral justice.

Ruto and Odinga, whose rivalry in last year’s disputed presidential election narrowly won by the latter spilled over to the streets in the past two weeks, separately announced last Sunday they had agreed to bipartisan negotiations through Parliament to address the opposition’s grievances.