Ultimatum Issued by Azimio: Talks at Risk of Collapse Without Key Concerns Addressed
Yesterday, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition issued a six-day ultimatum to President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance to address concerns raised by the bipartisan talks team, including a cessation of interference with the Jubilee Party, or they will consider the talks to have failed and take alternative action.
The coalition’s leadership and its bipartisan talks team, led by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, met at the SKM Command Centre in Nairobi.
In a statement read by Democratic Action Party Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa, the coalition accused President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza team of not being serious about addressing substantive issues, such as lowering the cost of living, auditing the servers of the electoral commission, reconstituting the elections body, and ending interference with its affiliate parties.
“The meeting decided and authorized our team in the bipartisan talks to issue a notice of dissolution of the talks if Kenya Kwanza does not publicly accede to the interim measures within the next six days by the framework agreement,” Mr. Wamalwa read.
He added, “Thereafter, the Azimio Coalition will announce our next course of action at a PG (parliamentary group) meeting on Tuesday of the following week.”
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The coalition also demanded that the Registrar of Political Parties resign due to his partisanship in the Jubilee Party conflicts.
“The Registrar of Political Parties, Ms. Anne Nderitu, must resign in light of clear evidence that she has been co-opted into illegal and partisan schemes by Kenya Kwanza to cripple political parties rather than protect them.
Anne Nderitu has lost the confidence of her clients, and the political parties, according to the coalition. Mr. Wamalwa stated that Kenya Kwanza must cease its efforts to “disable, eliminate, or overthrow other parties.”
“We hasten to add that the desire to eliminate political parties extends beyond the current attacks to include Kenya Kwanza regime efforts to deny funding to Azimio-affiliated political parties,” he said.
Call for by-elections
The coalition decided that all Jubilee MPs who have defected to Kenya Kwanza must run in by-elections, and those who hold their positions due to Azimio’s nominations must have their nominations revoked.
Only five of Jubilee’s 29 MPs and five senators remain loyal to former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Azimio also criticized the Kenya Kwanza team in the negotiations for being “multiple teams in one” whose members report to different superiors and are not moving in the same direction.
They are receiving different directives and are manifestly moving in opposite directions. The coalition stated that this was intentional.
“Kenya Kwanza views the talks as a means of managing the political situation, reducing political tensions, and maintaining business as usual,” Azimio charged.
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Martha Karua, Kalonzo Musyoka, Senate Deputy Whip and ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, senators Enoch Wambua (Kitui) and Ledama Olekina (Narok), and MPs David Pkosing (Pokot South), Millie Odhiambo (Suba North), and Amina Mnyazi (Malindi) were present at the briefing.
Azimio asserted that the destabilization of Jubilee is sponsored by the highest level of Kenya Kwanza leadership to ensure that the alliance obtains a super majority in Parliament to amend the constitution to, among other things, remove presidential term limits and abolish devolution.
“Kenya Kwanza also wants to eliminate the requirement that Parliament approve every tax measure and give the President the authority to impose certain taxes without always having to pass a Finance Bill,” they said.
Azimio stated that it recognizes the resolutions of Jubilee’s special National Delegates Convention, including the leadership change, “which must be considered final.”
“Kenya Kwanza must understand that Azimio will do everything in its power to defend its affiliate parties against these heinous attacks. Mr. Wamalwa urged all Kenyans to protect the multiparty democracy for which so many Kenyans sacrificed their lives.
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