Azimio Settles on Kenneth Marende for the National Assembly Speaker Job

An image of Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka
An image of Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka
Twitter
Kalonzo Musyoka

Azimio has settled on Kenneth Marende as the candidate for the Speaker of the National Assembly seat- a position that was initially touted for Wiper's Kalonzo Musyoka. 

Media reports indicated that Azimio Secretary General, Junet Mohamed made the announcement public, indicating that there were wide consultations among the stakeholders before arriving at the decision. 

Junet revealed that the coalition decided to front a candidate who was tried and tested in order to go toe-to-toe with Kenya Kwanza's Moses Wetangula. While explaining the decision, Junet noted that the Azimio coalition had kept their cards close to their chest in a bid to outwit their political competitors. 

Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Kenneth Marende.
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Kenneth Marende.
File

"Azimio coalition has decided to front Marende as our candidate for the National Assembly speaker. We have decided to go for someone who has been tried and tested, someone who understands the operations of Parliament.” 

"We are going to formally communicate this to all our members by Monday. All the coalition partners including Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka are in agreement," Junet told Nation.Africa

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Wiper's Secretary General, Shakila Abdalla, however, affirmed that she was not aware of such developments. 

Junet noted that the Wiper party would not be left empty-handed as it would produce a candidate to run for National Assembly deputy speaker, while the Senate speaker candidate would be reserved for either the Coast or the pastoralist region. 

Marende, who affirmed that he had been informed of the decision, noted that he was up to the task to serve in his best capacity. 

“If you ask me my level of confidence in terms of competency and capacity to serve, I am 100 percent. I have served in the office before and the jury is out there on my performance," Marende stated. 

Other leaders from the Azimio faction seeking positions include ODM chairman John Mbadi and Ugunja MP-elect Opiyo Wandayi who both seek the majority leader position in the National Assembly.

Initially, Marende had been touted as the candidate for the Speaker of the Senate position while Kalonzo was offered the Chief Cabinet Secretary post.

Marende, who served as Speaker between 2008-2012, will battle it out with Senator-elect Moses Wetangula, who is being fronted by president-elect William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza wing.

The two camps are keeping an eye on the Supreme Court, which will rule on the presidential petition challenging Ruto's victory. 

A display of the Supreme court session as hearing of petition continues on August 31, 2022
A display of the Supreme Court session as hearing of petition continues on August 31, 2022
Photo
The Judiciary of Kenya