The Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Council of Kenya has condemned the violent protests witnessed during the Saba Saba Day street demonstrations on July 7, 2023, in Nairobi and other parts of the country.
In a press briefing at Nyayo House in Nairobi, Council Chairman Stephen Cheboi expressed regret that the opposition had opted for protests, knowing it was unable to control goons and criminal elements from taking advantage.
“We as a Council respect the rule of law and the constitutional right to assembly, but this should not be done at the expense of Wananchi, who had to close down businesses for fear of looters after others were robbed,” he said, adding that many others stayed home as additional reports indicated that several planes carrying tourists to Nairobi were diverted to Dar es Salaam and Kampala.
This, he said, in economic terms, means that the country may have lost up to Sh9 billion in one day alone.
“For a heavily indebted and struggling Kenyan economy, this is a luxury we cannot afford,” stressed Cheboi while asking hardliners on both sides to give peace a chance.
He reiterated that further protests planned for next week, Wednesday, July 13, 2023, should be called off, appealing to political leaders to stop holding Wananchi at ransom as they pursue their own selfish agenda.
“Let us always observe peace as a nation. We should be united as the people of Kenya,” Cheboi emphasized.
“The Council, as an umbrella Organization of all NGOs and other CSOs, calls for sobriety and dialogue through the bipartisan approach to resolve thorny issues,” added Cheboi, urging leaders both in government and the opposition to be accountable to the people.
He pointed out that the opposition’s move to collect 10 million signatures should be done within the law given that elections have long been concluded and new commissioners to the electoral commission body are yet to be reconstituted.
The country, he remarked, should not be subjected to the “law of the jungle” of Thomas Hobbes, where “might is right” and life is short and brutish.
By Emma Jolly Wambui
