Inside President William Ruto’s plan to contain Raila with Western sanctions

With Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga piling pressure on the Kenya Kwanza government to resign, President William Ruto’s administration now wants Western countries to slap the former Prime Minister with sanctions, including a travel ban.

Multiple Kenya Kwanza lawmakers and politicians interviewed by Sunday Nation accused Odinga of destabilizing the government and want several actions taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and western countries to contain Odinga.

Commenting on the matter, National Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Owen Baya warned that the international community could punish Odinga heavily.

“You cannot earn the respect of the international community when you are busy trying to cause civil strife in your country. (Former President Robert) Mugabe of Zimbabwe was a respected democrat but when he started undermining the same democratic tenets, the international community placed tough sanctions against him. Raila has earned a name for himself for being a democrat. But if he starts behaving like a rebel, we will ask the international community to punish him,” Baya said.

Kenya Kwanza intends to convince the international community by likening Odinga’s proclamation that he does not recognize President Ruto as the duly elected president of Kenya to that of a rebel out to cause civil strife in his bid to reclaim what he maintains is his “stolen victory”.

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“Kenyans, as well as our international partners and stakeholders, are shocked that Mr. Odinga is treating Kenyan institutions and voters with contempt by attempting to undermine a democratically elected administration.

Anybody who attempts to cause instability in the globalisation matrix will soon find himself isolated and swimming with sharks in dark cold waters,” Defence and Foreign Relations Committee chairman Nelson Koech explained.

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This comes at a time when the opposition chief has given the Kenya Kwanza administration an ultimatum of 11 days to cede to its demands or face mass action.

Among the demands that Odinga has been clear on is that the Kenya Kwanza administration should resign unconditionally.

Odinga who was speaking at a political rally in Kakamega on February 25 maintained that Ruto has 11 days to accept Azimio’s demands for a change in the formula for choosing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) members and lowering the cost of living, failure to which he will lead mass action.