In Summary
- Raila urged Kenyans to deny Ruto the freedom of paying taxes to the government
- The former Prime Minister urged Kenyans to embrace tax boycotts by stripping President Ruto the fuel tax through methods to reduce fuel consumption
Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga,has called for civil disobedience as part of a list of resolutions to counter President William Ruto who ignored their demands over the Finance Bill 2023.
In a statement he read during the rally at Kamukunji grounds, Raila urged Kenyans to deny Ruto the freedom of paying taxes to the government.
“We will adopt a series of acts of civil disobedience to force this regime to recognise that we, the people are supreme. Through civil disobedience, we will deny Ruto the taxes he thinks he can extort from us by force,” he said.
To begin, the former Prime Minister urged Kenyans to embrace tax boycotts by stripping President Ruto the fuel tax through methods to reduce fuel consumption, including carpooling in journeys.
He also urged them to embrace walking more often than driving and reducing unnecessary travel, urging all employers to give their employees time to walk to work and back home every weekday.
“Let us embrace tax boycotts. Let us deny Ruto the fuel tax by limiting the consumption of petrol and diesel, one way to do this is to carpool. Let us arrange to make regular journeys in a single vehicle whenever possible, and give each other a ride.
“Cut down on non-essential travel. Walk instead of driving whenever possible. I appeal to all employers to allow their workers time to walk to and from work,” he added.
Safety Over Livelihood
Raila also urged matatu owners to increase the carrying capacity of their vehicles by two times and for police to allow them to do so.
“I appeal to matatu owners to support tax boycotts. While observing safety measures, we intend to count fare by doubling the carrying capacity as part of the civil disobedience. Our police officers should support our call by allowing matatus to carry above capacity at current costs so that Kenyans can commute,” he continued.
By Rodgers Oduor
