Kenya opposition leader rallies supporters in Nairobi ahead of resumption of protests

NAIROBI, Kenya

Veteran Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, led a cavalcade of cars through the streets of Nairobi on Friday, shortly after his return from a trip to Dubai.

In a festive atmosphere, the large crowd of supporters followed his convoy through the streets of the city as it made its way to a rally in the district of Kibera.

It was the second gathering of his coalition Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya party since Odinga and President William Ruto agreed to bipartisan talks to iron out their differences.

Odinga has accused Ruto of stealing last year's election and of failing to control surging cost of living that is hitting Kenyans hard.

They have been struggling to make ends meet in the face of high prices for basic goods and a plunging local currency. A record drought has left millions hungry.

Friday’s rally comes before mass action was set to resume in Nairobi on Tuesday, three weeks after the party called off weekly demonstrations against Ruto while the two men held discussions.

It is not clear why the opposition has called for the protests to resume, but they had warned this would happen if insufficient progress was made in the talks