Azimio says Junet did not manage agents, handle their funding

Raila Odinga's campaign spokesperson Professor Makau Mutua. [File, Standard]

The Azimio One Kenya coalition has dismissed allegations that some members of its secretariat squandered money budgeted for party agents in the August 9 General Election.

This comes amid unconfirmed reports that some top leaders in the coalition misused money meant to pay party agents, and as a result, the coalition had no agents in some polling stations.

In a statement released on Sunday afternoon, Azimio's spokesperson Prof. Makau Mutua said that none should blame the coalition or its candidates for what he termed as 'flawed elections.'

"We must appreciate that it is not the responsibility of candidates to protect the vote or conduct a free and fair election. That constitutional duty lies with the IEBC working in concert [sic] with relevant institutions. No one should blame Azimio or our candidates for stolen votes or a fatally flawed election," Prof. Mutua's statement reads in part.

After his [Raila] loss in the August General Election, bitter exchanges have dominated the coalition, with his supporters pointing fingers at each other.

As a result, some of his key allies have been attacked on social media.

They include Suna East MP Junet Mohammed [Azimio Secretary General], former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and Azimio Secretariat's Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Meyo.

In its statement, the coalition has also defended Suna East lawmaker Junet Mohamed who has majorly been on the receiving end of critics.

"I have seen scurrilous attacks on Junet Mohamed accusing him of misappropriation of campaign funds meant for agents. Let me state without equivocation that Hon Mohamed was a campaign leader in the field supporting Raila. He at no time -even once- handled funds meant for agents. Nor did he have anything whatsoever to do with the management of agents," the coalition reiterated.

The allegations against the Azimio leaders came to the fore when it emerged that the Raila-led coalition had no agents in some parts of the country.

Others argued that in areas where party agents were deployed, they have not been paid to date.