Karua holds ‘consultative meeting’ with Mt Kenya leaders ahead of Azimio-KK talks
By Wycliffe Nyamasege, August 3, 2023
Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition co-principal Martha Karua on Thursday, August 3 held a meeting with top Mount Kenya leaders as the coalition gears up for fresh bipartisan talks with the Kenya Kwanza government.
In attendance were Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni, former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya and former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi.
In a tweet, Karua said the closed-door talks with the influential Mt Kenya leaders were consultative in nature.
“Consultative meeting with Kamwene leaders this morning,” Karua captioned photos from the meeting.
Consultative meeting with KAMWENE leaders this morning @NdirituMuriithi @PeterMunya @HonKioni pic.twitter.com/T1kDiyQq4R
— Martha Karua SC (@MarthaKarua) August 3, 2023
It’s not clear what the agenda of the meeting was but the leaders have been on the frontline in the stand-off with President William Ruto’s administration over the rising cost of living, reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and alleged electoral fraud in last year’s presidential election.
The meeting comes amid claims of disquiet in the Azimio coalition after the opposition side failed to include a member from the vote-rich Mt Kenya region in the proposed dialogue with Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza.
The five-member delegation unveiled by opposition leader Raila Odinga’s camp will be led by Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who is also a co-principal in Azimio.
Other members of the team are National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi (ODM party), Democratic Action Party leader Eugine Wamalwa, Malindi MP Amina Mnyanzi (ODM) and Nyamira Senator Okongo Omogeni (ODM).
On the other hand, the Kenya Kwanza side will be represented by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot, Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Hassan Omar and Bungoma Woman Representative Catherine Wambilianga.
The two sides agreed to form a 10-member committee to steer the talks following a private meeting between Raila and President Ruto last week.
The talks will be facilitated by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The talks that collapsed last month, however, face another test yet after Azimio distanced itself from a five-point agenda shared with the media by Kenya Kwanza.
The issues are the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), implementation of 2/3 gender rule, entrenchment of Constituency Development Fund (CDF), establishment and the entrenchment of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, and embedment of the Office of Prime Cabinet Secretary.
The Azimio leadership dismissed Ichung’wah’s agenda items as “Kenya Kwanza’s wish list”.
While disowning a statement issued by Ichung’wah on Saturday, the coalition insisted that the cost of living, which was not listed among the items of discussion, was Azimio’s priority in the bipartisan talks.