After opposition leader Raila Odinga calls off Monday's protest and agrees to talk with the government, the charges against him are dropped.

The top prosecutor in Kenya has dropped charges against four lawmakers over anti-government protests, their lawyer says. This comes a day after the leader of the opposition stopped the protests.


After weeks of chaotic street protests, Raila Odinga said on Monday that he would start talking to the government.

"The case has been dropped," lawyer Danstan Omari told reporters, "for the sake of peace, dialogue, and justice between the accused and the state."

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Late in March, the four opposition lawmakers, who were all leaders of Odinga's party in Kenya's Parliament, were arrested and charged with illegal assembly. They were then given bail and released.

Over the past two weeks, thousands of people have marched three times to protest the high cost of living and what they say was fraud in last year's general election.

During the protests, police used tear gas and water cannons, including on Odinga's car. Last week, there were a lot of police in the central business district of Nairobi.

Monday was supposed to be the day of a fourth rally, but it was put on hold after President William Ruto called for talks and suggested putting together a bipartisan committee to put back together the electoral commission.

Ruto said in a statement on Sunday, "Given these circumstances and the recent events that led to deaths and damage to property, I urge Hon. Raila Odinga to stop any further protests.

He said that the committee could look into possible changes to the way elections are run.

Ruto, who took over Kenya and inherited a huge foreign debt and got rid of fuel subsidies, said last week that the protests hurt businesses and the people of Kenya.

Odinga has lost five elections in a row in his bid to become president. He used to be prime minister.

Kenya's Supreme Court unanimously upheld the results of the August election, which made Ruto president. However, Odinga says the election was stolen, and he released new claims this past weekend that he says prove he won.

The leader of the opposition does not recognize Ruto or his government. On Saturday, he told Ruto to "leave his office."

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES