NAIROBI, 13 January 2021 – The leader of Kenya’s ODM, Raila Odinga, was heckled Wednesday by a hostile crowd at Burma Market, during an impromptu campaign stop turned ugly.
Traders shouted “Ruto”, drowning out the voice of Raila at times, as he tried to address the crowd that had gathered.
Raila Odinga on one of those “meat” the people tours – Photo YouTube
At one point, some of the anti-Raila traders picked up, lifted above their heads and brandished a wheelbarrow, symbolizing their support for Deputy Kenyan President William Ruto, who uses the wheelbarrow as a symbol.
Later, Raila tweeted that the prupose of his stop at the market was simply “to say hello to the people”.
Raila added that the people he met “pledged their full and unwavering support” for him and the referendum process.
Kenya is planning changes to its constitution that will re-introduce the positions of a prime minister with two deputies, along with a leader of official opposition.
The changes are supported by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his former rival Raila Odinga.
The revisions came from the taskforce created after the peace deal of 2018 between Kenyatta and Odinga and known as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
The launch of the bill last November 25 has many observers speculating that Kenya may organize a constitutional referendum sometime by the summer of 2021.
