Achana na babangu! Winnie Odinga tells Kenyan asking for economic intervention
By Winnie MabelA tweep on X (formerly Twitter) published a post wondering why opposition leader Raila Odinga was not intervening on behalf of Kenyans who are currently suffering heavy taxation by President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza government.
In his tweet, the man going by the name @ItsKiptoo asked why Raila Odinga was not putting pressure on President Ruto to lower the steep cost of living, asking if he was a sell out. In response, Winnie Odinga, Raila Odinga’s last born daughter, took him on.
“Si ulimtuma Bondo? Achana na Babangu (Didn’t you send him to Bondo? Leave my father alone),” replied Ms Odinga.
She said this in reference to President Ruto and his allies’ favorite phrase of sending Raila to Bondo to mean no one should vote for Raila in any election and send him back to his rural Bondo home to retire from politics. This phrase especially went viral in the last presidential election in which Raila and Ruto faced off, and Raila controversially lost the election by approximately 200,000 votes.
Winnie Odinga’s response riled up her followers as many celebrated Kiptoo’s suffering considering he comes from the President’s tribe which is believed to have voted along tribal lines and were now looking for Raila to save them from their election choices.
Baba suffering in Bondo 😂😂pic.twitter.com/0S9d0WeSIS
— Kijana Ya Baba (Parody)🇰🇪 (@kijanaYaa) November 9, 2023
“Hapa ni kuambiana ukweli tu😂 (Here, we must simply tell each other the truth),” added Mr Right KE.
“Continue baby girl. Continue please. How’s baba’s life in Bondo?” asked Wesley Kibande.
Raila Odinga’s detractors believed the hype that once he was sent to Bondo, he would languish but it turns out the opposite is happening and they are now yearning for him to come and save them in fighting for an economy they can survive in.
“Excellent answer 👏 🤣,” added Captain VinieO.
“Mbona pia yeye asitume baba yake aweke maandamano (Why can’t he send his own father to start demonstrations)?” asked Bravin Yuri.
@ItsKiptoo ended up deleting his X post.
Earlier this year, Raila led opposition leaders and followers onto the streets to fight for a number of things including the lowering of the cost of living. For months, the economy in a number of towns was interfered with as businesses had to shut their doors in the face of some people taking advantage of the demonstrations and looting their shops.
However, for a while, the demos were postponed to give dialogue a chance and after a failed attempt, they resumed, only for the government to call the opposition back to the table. Talks ensued but are currently in disarray because the government does not want to address one of the opposition’s pillar issues- heavy taxation and the high cost of living.
It now remains to be seen if President Ruto will address these issues in his State of The Nation address at Parliament Buildings where he is expected today, November 9, 2023, at 2:30pm.
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