Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura is set to address the nation on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 10: 30 am ahead of planned protests in the country.
In a statement released on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, Mwaura said that the presser will be about matters of national importance and will take place at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
The address comes in the wake of planned protests on Thursday to compel the Kenya Kwanza administration to tackle issues of corruption, ballooning public debt, unemployment and taxation.
President William Ruto has ceded some ground after the protests which started in June against the punitive tax proposals which have since been shelved.
The president would also send packing all his cabinet except the prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, but the youth are demanding more.
Tension high
Tensions are high as businesses remain apprehensive ahead of the bi-weekly protests that have seen several business owners incur losses in the hands of looters and vandals.
Additionally, the opposition coalition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya, appears to be in an imminent split as two factions remain non-committal towards the talks to stabilise the country.
On Wednesday, July 17, 2024, top members of the ODM party stormed out of a joint presser by the coalition in protest over what they called the difference in position on the talks.
ODM party leader has openly endorsed the talks between the president and the various sectors of stakeholders in the country. Still, Azimio co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka, Jubilee Secretary General and Party of National Unity (PNU) leader Peter Munya maintain it is time for action.
During the presser, a group of goons disrupted Musyoka before he could read a joint statement on the position of the coalition on the dialogue.
Spokesman to address issues
The differences emerged after the Raila-Odinga-led ODM insisted on the dialogue and the possibility of forming a government of national unity while the other affiliate parties of the Azimio la Umoja flatly opposed the idea.
Odinga relies on the goodwill of the current government in his bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship, a move which seems to compromise his political ideologies.
However, ODM has said all the victims of police brutality during the protests must be compensated before any meaningful talks could be done.
With the country at a crossroads, Mwaura is expected to address key issues concerning the political environment, the botched negotiations which were initially set to happen on July 15, 2024, among other pressing matters in the country.
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