Kuria meets Raila, announces intention to join Azimio coalition

Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria Monday met Azimio boss Raila Odinga at his Capitol Hill office in Nairobi and discussed his Chama Cha Kazi joining the coalition.

According to Kuria the two also resolved that together they will push for a referendum that will change the structure of governance of the country’s leadership.

Speaking to The Standard on phone, Kuria said the upcoming national dialogue must culminate into a referendum that will among other things relook the Bomas draft constitution of 2005 which recommended a parliamentary system of government.

Kuria said Kenya is ripe for a governance structure where a president is elected directly by the people then appoints the leader of the largest or the second largest party in the National Assembly as prime minister.

The Bomas Draft proposed that the president would be the symbol of national unity, without membership of any political party, and with the responsibility to safeguard the sovereignty of the country, promote and respect the diversity of the people and safeguard the Constitution.

The Prime Minister would preside over government functions and coordinate legislative work as well as the work of ministries and was also tasked to appoint ministers, in consultation with the President, and could fire them. 

“If you look at the 1997’s cooperation between Raila and Moi, and then the nusu mkate government of 2007, the handshake government in 2018 between Uhuru and Raila and now the broad-based government, those are prescription of panadols. The message is that we need a structure of governance that will prevent loss of life before opposition and government cohabits,” he said. 

 He said during the meeting with Raila they discussed a structure of governance akin to France which consists of an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch. The system allows for a prime minister who runs government. 

“Straight forward demcoracy can’t work, we need to come up with a structured democracy such as the Bomas draft which proposed 16 regions,” added Kuria.

Other than agreeing that his party would join Azimio, Kuria said they agreed with Raila that he would join his campaign to clinch the African Union Commission chairmanship.

After the meeting, Kuria posted on his social media platforms including X praising Raila for bending backwards ’to save the country from self-destruction’.

“We discussed various issues facing the nation at the moment. I thanked Baba (Raila) for bending backwards (Yet again) to save the country from self-destruction. We were unanimous that going forward we cannot continue to prescribe Panadol where surgery is required. The upcoming process of national dialogue must and Will culminate in deliberate structural reform for a lasting solution. We will work very, very closely in that endeavor as we continue to consult with other like minded leaders,” he wrote. 

He said despite the claims that his party had agreed to fold to join the UDA, the party existed and would start the process of joining the Azimio coalition which is the official Opposition party in Kenya.

“My meeting with Raila underscored the importance of the broad-based government that has been put in place for the unity of the country,” he said.

Kuria is among the 12 Cses who were axed following the dissolution of Cabinet on July 11 this year following the unrest by Gen Z.

They included Njuguna Ndung'u, Aisha Jumwa, Zachariah Njeru, Peninah Malonza, Mithika Linturi, Ezekiel Machogu, Ababu Namwamba, Simon Chelugui, Florence Bore, Eliud Owalo and Susan Nakumicha.