Why Kioni, Hassan Omar Almost Came To Blows At Kenya Kwanza – Azimio Bomas Talks
Thursday’s bipartisan discussions between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance were marred by an acrimonious verbal exchange between Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni and EALA MP Hassan Omar.
Kenya Kwanza and Azimio met for nearly two hours at the Bomas of Kenya to find solutions to the lingering effects of the post-election crisis of 2022. According to reports, Kioni rushed out of the meeting after the altercation.
Kioni noted in a Friday interview that he was criticized by an opposition-aligned lawmaker for his unwavering posture that the primary focus of the negotiations should be on reducing the high cost of living for Kenyans.
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“The cost of kerosene has gone up by Ksh.33. We were supposed to lower the cost of living in Kenya; how is it that we are talking of borrowing Ksh.890 billion between April and June and the high levels of taxation?” Kioni quipped on Spice FM.
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“We have not resolved the issue of the Finance Bill; I said that I wouldn’t want to sit in a situation where I feel like we are conning Kenyans. Some thought that shouldn’t have been said but I am still saying it. What took us to Bomas and why people were killed was the cost of living. That’s why people were demonstrating.”
He went on to say that both the governing government and the opposition have an enormous responsibility to address the rising cost of living, adding that any state-sponsored initiatives will not resonate with “hungry” Kenyans.
“Even when we were sitting there we were not talking about the brutality of the police force, the medical bills of those who were injured, and compensation for people killed. Those are issues that should worry anyone of us,” he said.
“If you want to amend the constitution, procedures of doing so are provided in the constitution. You cannot come up with another ‘kichinjio’ way and we will be there to say there is a constitutional way of amending our constitution and there are issues you cannot touch until you go to Kenyans via referendum.”
Why Kioni, Hassan Omar Almost Came To Blows At Kenya Kwanza – Azimio Bomas Talks
