Azimio Unveils 5-Member Team For Talks With Ruto

Azimio la Umoja coalition has unveiled its list of members of its dialogue team tasked with negotiations with President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza coalition.

The Raila Odinga-led coalition on Monday, July 31 settled on Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka who will lead the five-member team.

Others include the Leader of the Minority Party in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi, DAP Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa, Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni and Malindi MP Amina Mnyazi.

“Azimio will respect Kenya Kwanza's right to bring all its issues to the table. We expect Kenya Kwanza to do the same with our issues.

Kalonzo Musyoka speaking during an interdenominational mass organised by Azimio la Umoja on July 28, 2023. /THE ODM PARTY

"The issues, which the team has instructions to put on the table are High Cost of Living, Audit of 2022 elections, Bipartisan Reconstitution of IEBC, Inclusivity in national affairs and Respect for Political Parties in line with the constitution,” Azimio revealed in a statement.

The Raila Odinga-led coalition also noted that it is keen on a time-bound program of talks that should begin on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, and take one month.

The latest comes a day after President Ruto confessed to meeting Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga but stated that he issued conditions which would guide their negotiations.

Speaking during the Interdenominational Church Service at Ukunda Showground in Kwale County, Ruto indicated that he had informed Raila and his team of Kenya's status as a democratic country guided by the Constitution and the rule of law.

He added that despite the numerous issues that they would disagree on, the one thing he told the former Prime Minister was that his government would not tolerate any leader; past, present or future, who will orchestrate the destruction of property during the anti-government protests.

“I talked with the opposition leader (Raila) and his team, I told them that we are a democratic country guided by the constitution and law. We can disagree on many issues but no present past or future leader will plan the violent destruction of property. That will never happen again in Kenya,” the President said.

“We can talk on other things but we are not going to negotiate about the safety of Kenya. We have agreed that violence and destruction of property will not be in the equation of the politics and governance of Kenya. The other things we can talk about."

President Ruto's sentiments were corroborated by former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya who revealed that the President and Raila held the first in a series of talks mediated by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to iron out differences between the Kenya Kwanza government and the opposition.

“We sanctioned a meeting between our leadership and that of Kenya Kwanza, under the facilitation of H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo.

"This initial meeting was to prepare the ground for honest discussions of the issues we have been raising and those that Kenya Kwanza feels like raising. The meeting was therefore a talk about envisaged talks,” Munya announced during a media conference called by the Azimio coalition in Nairobi.

Munya however termed it “unacceptable and misleading” for the Kenya Kwanza faction to issue statements purporting to be Azimio La Umoja issues.

He made reference to National Assembly Majority Leader, Kimani Ichung'wah's statement which claimed that the talks would revolve around the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, entrenchment of the Constituency Development Fund, establishment and the entrenchment of the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and embedment of the Office of Prime Cabinet Secretary. 

Former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya speaking to the media flanked by Azimio leaders on July 30, 2023. /THE ODM PARTY