President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to chair the first council meeting of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Thursday, April 21.
In a statement sent to newsrooms by Raila Odinga's Presidential Campaign Secretariat Press Secretary Dennis Onsarigo, the first-ever council meeting will engage key political leaders within the Azimio grouping.
Part of the agenda of the forum will be to discuss pertinent issues within the coalition as well as iron out glaring differences that are threatening the alliance.
“The Azimio la Umoja Coalition Party flagbearer and ODM party leader Raila Odinga will attend the first Azimio Council meeting tomorrow Thursday 21st, April 2022,” read part of the statement.
The leaders expected to attend the high-level meeting include Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Baringo Senator Gideon Moi who is the KANU national chairman, NARC-Kenya's Martha Karua, Mombasa governor Hassan Joho and his Kitui counterpart Charity Ngilu.
Others include Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader and Kanduyi legislator Wafula Wamunyinyi, Murang’a Woman Rep Sabina Chege, Abdi Noor Omar Farah and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed and Taveta MP, Naomi Shaban.
The meeting will focus on the best way forward for the Azimio family, with growing disquiet among partner parties, as witnessed in recent public spats.
The running mate question for the Raila-led brigade remains a cause of headache for President Kenyatta who has already endorsed the former Premier as his preferred successor.
Kalonzo Musyoka, Martha Karua, former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth and Agriculture CS Peter Munya are some of the leaders being touted as potential deputies of Odinga.
The issue has already ruffled feathers within the coalition, and lines being drawn with different factions rooting for their candidate.
For instance, leaders allied to the Wiper party, including Kalonzo himself, insist that they deserve the slot. Still from the Ukambani region, Maendeleo Chap Chap party leader Dr Alfred Mutua has offered himself as the best person to deputise Raila on the ballot.
On the other hand, a section of Azimio women leaders, led by Kitui governor Charity Ngilu has endorsed Martha Karua as the coalition's best fit for the running mate slot. However, a day after their pronouncement, another wing associated with Wiper dismissed Ngilu's position.
There's also the issue of sibling rivalry that is threatening to rip apart the Azimio house. Already, Kalonzo and Makueni Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana do not see eye to eye. The Muungano party leader has accused the former vice president of frustrating him within the alliance, bringing to the fore the supremacy battles that Uhuru and Raila are confronting, as the clock ticks towards August 9.
