Raila meets Azimio’s principals amid division fears
By Lutta Njomo, July 31, 2024
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has convened a meeting with Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition principals amid division fears.
The former Prime Minister Raila met with the faction led by Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka to deliberate issues regarding the coalition.
Among those who attended the meeting include Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni, Kenya African National Union (KANU) party chairperson Gideon Moi, Party of National Unity (PNU) chairperson Peter Munya and Siaya Governor James Orengo.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party shared the photos of the meeting on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, without giving more details of the meeting.
“Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition,” ODM shared on X.
Division fears
Azimio has been rocked by disintegration fears following the decision by some ODM stalwarts to accept Cabinet positions.
President William fronted the ODM chair and nominated MP John Mbadi to lead the Treasury ministry and National Assembly Minority Leader and Ugunja MP James Opiyo Wandayi to oversee the Energy docket.
He similarly nominated former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho to lead the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy, and former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya to head the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development.
Following the decision, Martha Karua’s Narc-Kenya formally expressed its interest in exiting Azimio. Narc Kenya Acting Secretary General Asha Bashir directed the letter to Azimio Secretariat Secretary General Junet Mohamed on July 25, 2024.
“Kindly take note that our stay in Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition is not tenable due to the prevailing political developments,” said the NARC-Kenya SG.
“As NARC Kenya by way of this letter, we are giving notice to exit the Coalition as stipulated in the exit clause (s) in the Coalition Agreement. This notice is effective from the date of this letter.”
PNU threaten to quit
Political temperatures within the coalition hit another level high after PNU affiliated with Peter Munya also threatened to ditch Azimio over the recent broad-based government arrangement.
Party leader Peter Munya disclosed that the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) will convene on Thursday, August 1, 2024, to decide about its stay in the coalition.
“We are meeting on Thursday to decide our relations with Azimio,” Munya said.
He argued that ODM cannot say that they are not in government yet four of its members are working with President William Ruto’s administration.
“The way our constitution is structured is such that there have to be two sides, there are people in government and people supposed to be in the opposition, you cannot be in both places,” he said.
“As PNU, we believe we can a play better role when we are in the opposition and we are telling our brothers who are with us in Azimio to also make that choice. If they decide to join the government let them join fully so that it is clear who is playing where…right now there is confusion.”
Raila’s assurance
Despite the pressure and fears of the split, Raila assured the other Azimio principals that the coalition is still intact. Raila emphasised that those who accepted Cabinet positions did on their individual capacities.
Nonetheless, Kalonzo has put ODM MPs on the radar indicating that their true allegiance will be known during the vetting process.
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