Nairobi News

Former Kibra parliamentary aspirant McDonald Mariga has disassociated himself from chaos that rocked the area ahead of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s foray into the area for antigovernment demonstrations on Monday.

Mariga has also refuted claims by Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition politicians that he planned the chaos and even armed goons to disrupt the demonstrations in Kibra.

“A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on… Blessed day everyone #GodAboveEverything,” the retired Kenyan footballer said.

He also posted a video of himself walking in his farm in rural Kenya. Mariga owns expansive farms in Uasin Gishu and Busia counties.

Also read: Ruto returns as Raila marshals troops for maandamano Thursday

It is believed that the accusations were first made on Azimio TV, an online media platform, which is the official social media account of Azimio la Umoja for updates on politics and news. A scroll on Azimio TV’s timeline revealed that the post has since been taken down.

Kibra has been epicenter of Azimio protests, with protesters engaging police officers in running battles for the last two Mondays. Property have also been destroyed and looted by some demonstrators during the protests.

Mr Mariga, a close ally of President William Ruto who backed his initial entry into politics, has on two occasions contested the Kibra Parliamentary seat without success.

Now retired, Mariga won the Uefa Champions League during his stint with Inter Milan where he reportedly earned over Sh150 million a year for four years in salaries and bonuses.

Also read: Raila’s major routes blocked by police in anticipation of Maandamano Thursday

Azimio la Umoja began holding demonstrations against the runaway high cost of living that President Ruto promised to tackle in his first few days in office but has so far failed adddress. Instead, commodity prices have been increasing owing to the weakening of the Kenyan shilling against the US Dollar on the foreign exchange market.

Additionally, Azimio has been demonstrating against President Ruto’s presidency, insisting he didn’t win the the August 2022 presidential election. Azimio has also been demanding that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission open their computer servers to show who won the election.

The opposition has also been demanding that President Ruto stop the process of replacing IEBC Commissioners. Some of the outgoing IEBC Commissioners opposed President Ruto’s victory, saying the tallying process and transmission of results had been shrouded in mystery and mischief.

Azimio intends to hold demonstrations every Monday and Thursday until President Ruto meets these demands.

Also read: Pure nonsense! Babu Owino rubbishes Alice Ng’ang’a claims on Raila’s financiers