Karua, Kioni dismiss claims of their departure from Azimio La Umoja
By Alvin.Mwangi, October 24, 2023Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua and Jubilee Party Secretary-General Jeremiah yesterday dismissed claims they are planning to leave Azimio la Umoja Coalition, maintaining they are in the outfit to stay.
The leaders who spoke in Nairobi after launching the Kamwene Leadership Forum, a caucus they say will be for promoting interests from the Mt Kenya region said the Azimio coalition was very united and no force would ship them out.
“We are in Azimio. Azimio is very intact and I’m sure it is more intact than many would want to believe or would be happy to hear. We talked about Kamwene this week where I was the host at Jubilee. We have had many meetings, some at Narc Kenya,” said Karua.
She downplayed comments Azimio leader Raila Odinga made last Sunday (and later clarified to be misconstrued) which appeared to be a formal endorsement of Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka as the opposition’s presidential flag bearer in the 2027 general election.
“Right now, we are not talking about race but about the unity of Mt Kenya people. Kalonzo Musyoka is our brother. We are in Azimio to stay but we still have Kamwene Caucus to caucus about Mt Kenya issues,” Karua told journalists.
Clarification
“He (Odinga) wrote a statement of clarification, but even if he had endorsed [him], it would be within his right. An endorsement does not in any way curtail the chances of any other person who may wish to enter the race.”
He said people are moving away from the ruling party but are joining the Opposition outfit and one of the ways they are giving the people direction is through the Kamwene Leadership Forum. Kioni said the outfit is for everyone from the Mt Kenya region.
“Clearly, people have moved from UDA, but they are not coming to Azimio. They are there like Israelites and we cannot allow them to wander for 40 years. We must quickly give them direction and Kamwene is just one of the things you’ll be hearing. It is not meant for anybody, it is for everybody.
There have been reports that Karua and Kioni are dissatisfied with the ongoing bipartisan talks between opposition MPs and those from the ruling Kenya Kwanza alliance.
This is over Kenya Kwanza’s purported refusal to address the rising cost of living, a key agenda of Azimio, as well as President William Ruto’s dalliance with some rebel opposition MPs and what they term as Kenya Kwanza’s interference with the Jubilee Party.