Odinga condemns invasion of Kenya ex-leader's farm

Raila Odinga, the leader of Kenya's opposition, has expressed strong disapproval of the encroachment on the property belonging to the former president of the country, Uhuru Kenyatta.

he believes the attack was carried out by "goons" hired by the government, he told the bbc.

Monday was the second day of anti-government protests called for by Mr Odinga over claims he was cheated at the last election as well as rising living costs in the country.

The looting of Mr Kenyatta’s large farm is seen as retaliation for his support for Mr Odinga.

More protests are planned, the next on Thursday. But the government has condemned the violence and disruption caused by the demonstrations.

Mr Odinga told the BBC he bears no responsibility for the destruction of property by protestors and defended the constitutional right to demonstrate.

He says it’s unfortunate that journalists were targeted by police and protesters during the course of Monday’s protests.

In a scathing critique of President William Ruto's economic policies, Odinga voiced concern over the impact on citizens. According to him, while the cost of living is an issue worldwide, many countries have taken steps to ease the burden on their populations amidst the global recession. 

However, the Ruto administration's decision to remove subsidies has resulted in increased suffering for the people. Odinga highlighted this as a grave concern and called for a reconsideration of the policy.

Mr Odinga said he was willing to meet with President Ruto for talks but stated two preconditions needed to be met. Firstly, the electronic election servers be opened to verify if last year’s vote was rigged and secondly that the selection of new commissioners of the election body should involve all parties.