Azimio coalition at crossroads after Raila party opts to join Ruto

National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi

Since the clamour for reforms began last month, there has been a reawakening in political parties and coalitions.

In particular, the call to have dialogue and form a broad-based government has led to uncertainty on the future of the coalition, the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition.

And now Wednesday’s Cabinet nominations, which saw the incorporation of Raila Odinga’s ODM party members into President William Ruto’s administration, is likely to shake up the coalition. In fact, Azimio co-principals have been at cross purposes since the “handshake” debate started.

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On Tuesday, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna gave a statement dismissing the talk the party was about to join the Government.

He regretted that some of its members had fallen for the campaign of lies and misinterpreted their stance as a licence to engage the Kenya Kwanza leadership and canvass for positions in Ruto’s Government.

“As a party, we wish to make it clear that we are not in negotiations with the Ruto regime for any coalition or political arrangement. Any ODM member who makes themselves available to join the Jenya Kwanza cabinet or any other position should know that they do so without the blessings or support of the party,” he stated.

But a few hours later, the Nairobi Senator was left with egg on his face when his party chairman, John Mbadi, deputy party leaders Wycliffe Oparanya and Hassan Joho as well as the National Assembly Minority Leader, Opiyo Wandayi, were nominated to the Cabinet.

Trouble in the Azimio coalition began after its leaders appeared with President William Ruto when he assented to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Bill, where a number of issues were agreed upon. Many Kenyans criticised the move even as the President and the Opposition, particularly Raila, emphasised the need for dialogue and formation of a government of national unity as a way to quell countrywide protests by the youth.

Parting point

But so aggressive were Kenyans that Raila and his coalition partners appeared to have made an about-turn.

A national dialogue that Ruto had promised failed to kick off and instead, parties under Azimio held divergent views on the matter.

Firstly, ODM said it was ready to support measures, including national conversation, to purportedly restore peace.

“As a party, ODM has never shied away from stepping up and having difficult conversations whenever the destiny of our nation is at stake. It is said that it is in times of crisis that leadership emerges,” said Sifuna.

But days later, an Azimio parliamentary group meeting ended in disarray after goons invaded and cut short a speech by Wiper Party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka.

Interestingly, Raila and Sifuna had already left the venue.

Present in the meeting were, among others, DAP-K Party leader Eugene Wamalwa, PNU leader Peter Munya and Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni.

Kalonzo later issued a statement stating that Wiper, Jubilee, DAP-K, PNU and Narc Kenya would not join the government, terming it as betrayal to Kenyans, particularly the young people. “We will not join for the straightforward reason that such actions are a betrayal of the ideology, values and tenets of both our coalition parties and constituent parties. As long as the Kenya Kwanza regime is in place, absolutely nothing will change. A Cabinet re-organisation and changing of office holders will only be cosmetic,” said Kalonzo last week.

 Yesterday, Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said: “I haven’t seen any hint from Kenyans that the opposition should join the KK administration as a pathway to addressing the high cost of living, extrajudicial killings or youth unemployment. As Wiper party under the leadership of Dr Kalonzo Musyoka, we stand firmly with the people of Kenya.”

On Wednesday, Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua distanced herself from the Raila move, posting on X: “Let every person stand by the courage of their convictions #AlutaContinua.”

And Sunday, Raila issued six demands to the government before he could engage in talks.

He affirmed his dedication to the ongoing reforms and signalled his readiness to forgo his ambitions at the African Union Commission, where he is eyeing the chairmanship, for the sake of the country.

In a message to the young and resilient generation in the country, Raila said that justice must come first before any talks and supported some of the demands that Gen Z have been advancing.

“Once these issues are resolved, we can focus on a national conversation and should be conducted transparently in a neutral venue,” he said.

But separately, Wiper Secretary General Senator Shakila Abdalla insisted they were in Azimio to stay.

“We are saying that our party leader should be respected because he is a national leader. We also laud Raila for his position that he does not want to join Kenya Kwanza’s government. We also welcome the ODM statement urging those who want to go to do so on their own volition as individuals and stop dividing Azimio or our members,” she said.

Abdalla insisted that they would push for the grievances of the protesters to be addressed.

“We do not want coalition or dialogue, this is not a political issue it is about leadership, mismanagement, corruption. We want the President to come forward and tell Kenyans how to tackle and when… we want transparency no dialogue, everything is on the table.”

But some Nyanza leaders urged Azimio and Kenyans at large to support President Ruto.

In a statement, eight former MPs and four former MCAs said: “We urge Kenyans to be cautious of infiltration and incitement into war by outside forces. These are difficult times for the whole world. The only winning nations will be the ones who do not engage in civil war.”

“It is important for all Kenyans to understand that most of Kenya’s problems are of international nature. Some difficulties are due to global warming, recession and food insecurity. Let’s go our way to keep peace,” they added in the statement signed by former Nyatike MP Omondi Anyanga.