Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has called for the dissolution of the Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition party, citing deep-seated internal rifts within the coalition and a failure to secure power collectively as initially envisioned.

In a statement shared on his X account on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, Kaluma expressed the need for a strategic reset.

Kaluma argued that Azimio la Umoja, the coalition formed before the general elections in 2022, has not succeeded in its goal of winning power.

He noted that the coalition members have fundamental disagreements on key issues. Given these challenges, he believes it is time for the coalition to disband and for each party to pursue its strategy for gaining political power.

Kaluma, who is a member of the ODM, the largest party within the coalition, stressed the importance of reclaiming the positions that the party had previously ceded to its coalition partners.

“We need to dissolve Azimio. We didn’t capture power as a pre-election coalition. We’re not agreed on critical issues. Let’s part ways and chart our path to power. As ODM, the biggest minority party, we need to take back the positions which we donated to the other Azimio parties,” Kaluma declared.

Kaluma’s sentiments come hot on the heels of ODM recently taking a firm stance against what they perceive as sustained attacks on their party leader, Raila Odinga.

ODM still opposition

On August 19, 2024, ODM’s national chairperson, Gladys Wanga, criticized other parties in the Azimio coalition for unfairly portraying Raila Odinga after five former ODM officials joined President William Ruto’s government.

“We are here as a party to express serious misgivings about utterances by some of our partners in the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party who have attempted to question the place of ODM and its commitment to playing its role as an opposition party,” Wanga stated.

Wanga emphasized that ODM remains committed to its role as an opposition party despite these appointments, clarifying that there is no formal coalition with Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza.

She defended ODM’s decision to allow these officials to join the government, asserting that they acted in the nation’s interest and not as coalition partners with Kenya Kwanza.

“The basis of that doubt is the fact that some four, just four former officials of this party joined the Kenya Kwanza administration to help steady the nation. We wish to restate that the fact remains that the party leader, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga has said before. No agreement between ODM and Kenya Kwanza makes the two joint partners in government,” she reiterated.

Adding;

“No sane leader or political party should celebrate the collapse of the nation. Consequently, when the president tapped on these members, the party responded to the distress call of the nation, and released them to serve the people of Kenya.”

On August 18, 2024, the Wiper party leader asserted his role as the main opposition leader, following the ODM party’s decision to collaborate with the Kenya-Kwanza administration.

Despite this, ODM emphasized that it remains the dominant opposition force within the Azimio coalition due to its significant representation in parliament.

ODM reiterated that leadership in parliament is determined by the number of representatives, not the affiliation with the government. The party also highlighted that its members have suffered the most during anti-government protests, with many killed, injured, or maimed while opposing Kenya Kwanza’s policies.