Kenya: Top Prosecutor Drops Case Against Opposition MPs Over ‘Economy’ Protests

A top prosecutor has reportedly dropped charges against four lawmakers over anti-government protests, a day after opposition Azimio La Umoja One Kenya leader, Raila Odinga, suspended the demonstrations.

This comes after Odinga announced he would embark on dialogue with the government after weeks of chaotic street protests, Aljazeera reports.

The four opposition lawmakers, all leaders of Odinga’s party in parliament, were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly in late March, then released on bail.

Thousands took part in three marches over the past two weeks against soaring prices and alleged fraud in 2023’s vote. All three turned violent and a fourth march had been planned for April  3, according to Reuters.

On March 20, anti-riot police lobbed teargas and fired a water cannon on Odinga’s convoy as he led his supporters to the capital’s city center. Odinga had been due to hold a press conference at a Nairobi hotel to speak about the so-called day of action against the government of President William Ruto before he was forced to leave the premises.

Odinga has refused to recognise Ruto or his government and has called on the president to “vacate his office”.

On April 3, Odinga suspended countrywide demonstrations. This is after he accepted President Ruto’s proposal for bi-partisan parliamentary process on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners’ recruitment, reports Capital FM.

The Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Workneh Gebeyehu, has lauded Ruto and Odinga for giving dialogue a chance to resolve challenges facing the country.

Kenya’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld the result of August’s election, which made Ruto president, but Odinga insists the election was stolen and released new claims this that he said prove he won. Odinga, a former prime minister, has lost several attempts at being Kenya’s leader of state.

Ruto kicked off a process of addressing demands by Odinga, with a meeting of the parliamentary leadership at State House.

Three people have died since anti-government protests erupted and businesses have been looted, property vandalised, and journalists attacked in unrest that has alarmed Kenya’s neighbours and allies, reports Capital FM.