Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga and former President Uhuru Kenyatta during the prayer service for victims of police brutality in Nairobi on July 28, 2023.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s stand in the ongoing turbulence facing Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition continues to be in sharp focus as coalition principals give mixed signals on the same.
On Sunday, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka sought to distance Mr Kenyatta, who is the Azimio council chairman, from the camaraderie between ODM leader Raila Odinga and President William Ruto which caused the current friction in Azimio.
Speaking in Mombasa, Mr Musyoka’s sentiments seemed to counter those of Mr Odinga who recently claimed that the former president played a role in the deal which led to some ODM politicians joining the Cabinet.
“The chair of Azimio coalition is the former President Uhuru Kenyatta and we meet when we want to meet, sometimes even without making it public. We are with the people and the majority of Kenyans are with us,” he said.
During a funeral service in Elgeyo Marakwet county last month, Mr Odinga said he was implored by Mr Kenyatta to help President Ruto at the height of anti-government protests led by the youth.
This was despite the widely held view that Mr Kenyatta, who supported Mr Odinga against Dr Ruto in 2022 election, was in no way interested in the current administration.
The Secretary-General of Jubilee, Mr Kenyatta’s party leader, Jeremiah Kioni had also dismissed the claims made by Mr Odinga.
On Mr Kenyatta’s stand on the matter, his spokesperson Kanze Dena on Sunday told the Nation: “No comment on that subject”.
Mr Musyoka who has proclaimed himself as the country’s official opposition leader reiterated that, together with Mr Kenyatta and other Azimio leaders, they will have a candidate in 2027 against Dr Ruto.
He insisted that the coalition will remain strong and united even after Mr Odinga exits the political stage to join the African Union Commission chairmanship race, amidst talks of a possible partnership between ODM and Dr Ruto in the next General Election.
The former Vice President said that his resolve is to save the country from bad governance under the Kenya Kwanza regime.
"Mr William Ruto is busy campaigning for 2027. Everything he is doing, whatever he plans on doing, watch this space we are not going to allow him to run alone. All he is doing now is focused on 2027," said Mr Kalonzo.
Read: ODM’s strange opposition in government script: Running with the hare and hunting with the hounds?
He slammed ODM politicians for being swayed by Mr Ruto's charm offensive in the Nyanza region during his recent development tour.
Mr Musyoka claims that the Head of State is intent on undermining the country's multi-party democratic landscape by using his influence to fold opposition parties in support of his re-election bid.
"We still have parents who are reeling from the loss of their children who were felled by the police during the protests. Let us be steadfast on ensuring that Kenya must remain a democratic nation and not a country run by dictatorial schemes," added Mr Kalonzo.
He was accompanied by Mr Kioni and DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa.
The leaders also claimed that the directive by President Ruto to have the National Youth Service recruits trained on how to handle firearms is a move aimed at suppressing public protests in the future.
They said Article 37 of the Constitution states that every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket and to present petitions to public authorities and so the government has no powers to frustrate these rights.
"We are not going to allow you to give firearms to NYS recruits. The idea of the National Youth Service was not to create another military force but the intention was for them to help build the nation and gain skills," Mr Kalonzo said.
While attending the pass-out parade of NYS recruits in Gilgil, President William Ruto directed Public Service Cabinet Secretaries Justin Muturi to work with the ministries of Interior and that of Defence and come up with ways to incorporate paramilitary training to enable recruits to handle firearms.
The Azimio leaders also asserted that they will formulate ways to block the government from implementing the new Higher Education Funding Model, arguing that it may prevent students from poor backgrounds from accessing education.
They are questioning the parameters used, claiming that the system is full of discrepancies therefore becoming a challenge grading students into categories identified as banding.
"The right to education is the right of every Kenyan but now that is being taken away through some very funny proposals that are there. It is important that we all stand up and say education should be free for all," said Mr Kioni.
