President William Ruto is set to address the nation at State House on Friday, July 19, 2024.
This is according to a notice shared by State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed as well as Emmanuel Talam, who is the president’s press secretary.
The president’s address comes at a time when many are waiting to see who he will include in his new cabinet when it is finally named.
Ruto, whose government has been under immense pressure, dissolved the cabinet following widespread demonstrations led by Gen Z.
Ruto first reacted to Gen Z’s protests by withdrawing the controversial Finance Bill 2024, but the youth were not satisfied as they kept demonstrating.
The Head of State went ahead to dissolve the cabinet before he called for a national dialogue to discuss national issues.
Although the call for dialogue has been divisive, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has supported the move. Other top leaders in the opposition outfit, Kalonzo Musyoka, Martha Karua, and Eugene Wamalwa, are opposed to this call.
ODM’s stand
In a statement on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, the Orange party endorsed dialogue with the Kenya Kwanza government.
“The meeting endorsed the call by the Central Committee of the Party during its meeting on July 12, 2024, for a national convention or conversation that would bring together all the people of Kenya. This meeting reiterated the need for this convention to be all-inclusive, people-centred, and constitutional-centred,” the ODM party’s statement read in part.
Edwin Sifuna, ODM’s general secretary, who is also the Nairobi Senator, said the unemployment crisis in the country will be one agenda item that will be given priority by the party during dialogue.
“That in the National Conversation, the party leadership was expressly mandated to prioritize policy proposals on long-standing matters as identified by the Central Committee, including but not limited to corruption, negative ethnicity, unemployment, and social justice.
“A detailed policy position shall be shared once the preconditions above are met and the convention convenes,” Sifuna said when they issued the statement.