The day of protests called yesterday by the Kenyan opposition to President William Ruto's government created quite a few disruptions to business activities in major Kenyan cities, as well as paralyzing traffic in the capital Nairobi, creating panic situations when the motorcade headed by leader Raila Odinga was subjected to tear gas and water cannon fire to disperse demonstrators intending to enter the city center. The demonstration had started from the Kamukunji Ground, a historic meeting point that on the same date, July 7, 33 years earlier had seen one of the most important protests by the people, who were then calling for multipartyism to President Daniel Arap Moi, who in response had two of the organizers arrested, with the police turning violent on their supporters.

Yesterday the mood was decidedly different, the protest by the opposition and (not very many) ordinary people is over the caravan, which in Kenya these days is a bit like shooting at the Red Cross, and it is not known how much the current government is to blame for this situation, nor what the opposing coalition, led by an almost 80-year-old leader, could do to right the broken ship.

In any case, law and order has been restored without any serious situations (no deaths or serious injuries were announced in the evening), although Odinga speaking to the media at the end of the procession, denounced an attempt on his safety by the police, showing pictures of his car (because the champion of the poor people goes to the demonstration in an SUV...) with shattered windows.

It's a script we've seen before and will be replicated next week, Wednesday, July 12, in the capital and the rest of the country (yesterday some more intemperance with vandalism occurred in his stronghold Kisumu, more clashes between police and protesters in Mombasa, but nothing of concern), as stated by Odinga himself. "This "is just the beginning of a new wave of civil disobedience and mass protests. Let's get ready for an even more serious demonstration, all over the country," said Odinga, who also announced that he plans to start a collection of signatures and reach 10 million, to "send Ruto home."

We'll see, the important thing is that like this time, the opposition is united and aligned in its intention to demonstrate peacefully, aware however that in these situations intemperance always comes from groups who take the opportunity to mess up and desperate slum dwellers who are more eager to engage in battles with law enforcement than to bring their protest to the headlines with grievances and much less proposals to the government.

UPDATE: Two people have died in hospital in Kisumu from injuries sustained during the protests, the director of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Hospital confirmed. According to Citizen Digital website, they were allegedly hit by bullets fired by police during the intemperance. They are a 30-year-old man, a resident of one of the city's slums, and another adult from the immediate suburbs.