Politician John Lonyangapuo’s Kenya Union Party (KUP) has signed a pre-coalition agreement to join President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza coalition, setting a new stage of rivalry on the composition of the bipartisan committee.
During the signing, majority whip Silvanus Osoro said the two MPs in Parliament who belong to the party will join Kenya Kwanza and take its position in the ongoing bipartisan talks with the opposition’s Azimio coalition.
“I expect that as a whip, I will be urging all the members in the National Assembly, including those belonging to KUP, that they now formally belong to the Kenya Kwanza Alliance. I believe the party has its own internal mechanisms to discipline those who go against the party position,” Mr Osoro said.
The majority whip also said the signing of the agreement was a strategy by President Ruto’s party to mitigate squabbles on the composition of the bipartisan committee.
The Azimio coalition, led by opposition chief Raila Odinga, had protested the inclusion of Eldas MP Adan Keynan in the bipartisan committee.
“Today’s signing should be an eye opener to them. Now that KUP has formally joined us, the excuses and unnecessary squabbles as far as Keynan is concerned should be mitigated by the issues that have happened today,” Mr Osoro said.
“We are okay having Mr Pkosing if they are okay having Keynan. If they are not okay having Mr Keynan to represent our team, we are also not okay having Mr Pkosing representing their team. You cannot have your cake and eat it too.”
On his part, Prof Lonyangapuo said the party had initiated the process of withdrawing from Azimio by associating with Kenya Kwanza, and that the agreement they signed invalidated one earlier signed with Azimio.
“The law says that after three months you can begin the process of joining a new coalition. We began by our associations, conduct and speeches that show we belong to Kenya Kwanza. After consulting with voters, it became apparent that for this country to proceed, we must shade our desires and rally behind the current administration. We have begun the process by writing to the Registrar of Political Parties,” he said.
He also noted that the party has its own internal disciplinary mechanisms that will be used to punish errant members who will not align with the Kenya Kwanza.
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary-General Cleopas Malala, who witnessed the signing of the post-election agreement, called upon Azimio to call off the demonstrations and engage in talks.
“We call upon our political friends in Azimio to approach these talks with an open mind and honesty. As far as we are concerned, the talks have only been adjourned to allow further consultations and have not collapsed as some would want some Kenyans to believe,” Mr Malala said.
