Inside Youth Movement Raila Deployed During Launch Of Mass Action

Azimio la Umoja coalition leader, Raila Odinga, on Thursday, March 9 declared officially the start of countrywide mass action to compel President William Ruto to heed his demands.

He declared so after the lapse of the 14-day ultimatum the former Prime Minister issued to the Head of State. In addition, he announced a mass protest set for Monday, March 20, 2023, which would see Azimio supporters stage an anti-President Ruto procession in Nairobi.

But even before the official declaration, protests have been commonplace across the streets of Nairobi in the days leading up to March 9. First, it was comedian Eric Omondi and his bare-chested, well-built mob who staged a sit-down outside Parliament Buildings before they were arrested and charged in court.

Then, more than 40 youths were arrested after they staged similar protests at the Kenya Railways roundabout and outside Kenya National Archives. The group, which was also arraigned in court, had staged an illegal assembly and it had not informed the authorities of its plans to picket.

During the arrest, police confiscated 75 beige shirts that the protesters were dressed in. The police also confiscated 29 red berets with a badge labelled Movement for the Defence of Democracy, 97 miniature Kenyan flags, blue helmets and packets of plastic whistles.

The Movement for the Defence of Democracy (MDD) was unveiled on Sunday, February 5 by Raila during a political rally at Kamukunji grounds in Kibera, Nairobi, with its members donning military regalia including a red beret that looks similar to the one worn by officers from the General Service Unit (GSU).

“I want to introduce a team of youth and I want all of you to join this troop,” Raila said when he unveiled the movement.

One group member who spoke on that occasion said the movement draws its membership from across the country, including university students, and that their brief is to execute Raila’s resistance plan.

According to its Twitter bio, MDD believes in democracy, the rule of law, and free, fair, verifiable elections as well as representing the true voice of the people of Kenya.

However, MDD's launch unsettled Kenya Kwanza supporters who questioned Raila's endgame, with Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot leading the KK troops in condemning the movement.

“The youth wing accompanying Raila Odinga should be careful as we had a similar Orange Democratic Party (ODM) youth winger in 2002. When the coalition government was formed, many of them were left rotting in jail,” Cheruiyot warned, further claiming that it was Ruto who bailed out the 2007 youth wingers.

“The same repeated itself in 2018 when Raila went into a handshake with former President Uhuru Kenyatta."

On his part, vocal lawyer Miguna Miguna, a supporter of the Kenya Kwanza administration asked the president not to give opposition leaders the attention they are seeking.

"Make sure that Raila Odinga isn’t arrested or prevented from holding his rallies. Let him hold as many rallies as he wants. Just make sure that his goons don’t destroy any property or cause havoc. Their noise adds political colour!" Miguna posed.

The formation of MDD in 2023 would signal to many alarm bells of a possible repeat of the handshake, which occurred on March 9, 2018, exactly five years to Raila's official declaration of mass action. 

Some KK supporters wondered how the MDD members obtained real Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) combat boots and boldly showed them off on national television, urging the Head of State to move with speed and arrest them.

“The government should act quickly and the youth wing be summoned by relevant security agencies to explain how they got hold of military gear,” remarked John Huss.

According to National Police Act, it is illegal for any person to imitate a disciplined officer by wearing a uniform that can be interpreted as that of an officer.

"A person other than a police officer who puts on a uniform resembling or intended to resemble the uniform commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding ten years, or to both.

"A person may though, with the approval of the Inspector-General use police uniforms for artistic purposes," the Act states further.

Coincidentally, Raila on March 9 stepped out donning the same regalia as the MDD, but this time coupled with a baseball cap with a brown-khaki colour that matched the outfit.

He accompanied the track and shirt with brown ankle boots and decorated it with an Azimio badge with the famous 'R' (Raila) symbol and five redstarts on the shirt's right shoulder with two name badges written #Ishawezekana and 'Baba' on his right and left breast pockets, respectively. 

On the front side of his cap, was a second Azimio badge with his name and that of the coalition party imprinted on either side. The trousers also had multiple pockets but no accessories to spruce up the style as Raila was captured walking out ahead of his agenda of the day.

Raila Odinga's outfit ahead of his announcement on mass action on March 9, 2023. /TWITTER