Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has pleaded with former President Uhuru Kenyatta to reach out to opposition leader Raila Odinga and stop planned mass action.

Speaking during a church service at Kapsabet Showground in Nandi county on Sunday, March 19, the country's second in command said the opposition's demonstrations scheduled for Monday could plunge the country into violence. 

Gachagua urged the former Head of State to talk to his "handshake brother" to abandon the protests and save the country from unnecessary destruction of property.

"Please Uhuru Kenyatta I'm appealing to you within the few remaining hours look for your brother, and tell him to stop that nonsense of getting people to Nairobi to come and destroy property because it's immoral and unacceptable," the DP said, further alleging that the protests were sponsored by Uhuru's Kenyatta family, who he accused of being "ungrateful".

Gachagua claimed Raila is using demonstrations to force a truce with President Ruto akin to the ODM leader’s handshake with former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018. He said he won't allow the "handshake to happen". 

The former Mathira Member of Parliament faulted Raila over his failure to condemn a recent incident where Azimio supporters disrupted a meeting presided over by Communications Authority (CA) Director General Ezra Chiloba in Kisumu last Wednesday.

The demonstrators, who were part of a group staging anti-government protests in the county, stormed Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Sports Ground during the World Consumers Rights Day celebrations to seek an audience with ICT and Digital Economy CS Eliud Owalo.

The group brought the meeting to a standstill as delegates scampered for safety, leaving the protesters feasting on the meal that had been set aside for guests.

Earlier, Raila insisted that the protests were aimed at reclaiming his victory in the 2022 August polls, which he claims were rigged in favour of Ruto.

"Let us all converge in the CBD and begin our grand March to State House to reclaim our stolen victory,” Raila said. 

The former prime minister has listed six reasons for the opposition's calls for peaceful demonstrations, including President Ruto's refusal to allow the audit of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) servers and the high cost of living.

Other grounds include nepotism in the current administration, lack of consultations in the reconstitution of IEBC, broken promises and the legitimacy of Ruto's government.