Protests against the high cost of living and alleged election fraud that have been going on for two weeks have stopped so that both sides can talk.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga stopped the countrywide protests that happened every two weeks over rising prices and what he said was rigging of the 2022 presidential election on Sunday night so that he could talk to the government.


President William Ruto had told Odinga earlier on Sunday to stop the protests, which he said had led to three deaths and more than 400 injuries, including to security personnel. This move came after Odinga ignored Ruto's request.


Odinga accepted Ruto's offer to talk, but he warned that if the talks fail, the strikes could start up again in a week.


Here is all the information you need about the protests and what will happen next.

Why have protests happened?

Odinga has been holding rallies all over the country since January 23. He wants his supporters to get rid of the current government.


On February 22, he gave the Ruto administration 14 days to deal with rising costs of living and release data from the server of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for the August 2022 vote. After the time was up and the government hadn't done what he asked, he said that March 20 would be the first day of civil disobedience.


Even though the government banned rallies, thousands of Kenyans listened to an opposition leader's call for anti-government protests on Mondays and Thursdays and held three rallies.


The main reasons for the protests are the rising cost of living and what people say was wrong with the election in August 2022.

Odinga has called it "reckless and heartless" for the government to take away subsidies on basic products like fuel and maize flour, which is the main food in Kenya.


Odinga said at one of his rallies, "The subsidies must be brought back, and the prices of basic goods and taxes must go down in the next 14 days."

Ruto's decision to get rid of the subsidies after taking office has made some basic goods more expensive, and he has said that he will not bring them back.

"It's not good for the economy and is meant to help well-connected business people, not poor Kenyans," he said. "By getting rid of subsidies, we saved our economy a lot of money. We won't go back to subsidies."

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Instead, the president came up with a plan to subsidize fertilizer to help farmers grow more food and eventually bring down the cost of production.


The cost of electricity has also gone up by 63% because the energy regulator approved higher rates. The government has also raised taxes.


Odinga has said, "We have talked about how children are dropping out of school because they can't pay the fees."


Supposed wrongdoing at the polls

Odinga's fifth loss at the polls came in August 2022, when Ruto beat him. Odinga didn't agree with the results, so he took his case to the Supreme Court, which upheld the results.


SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES