Kanu National Chairperson Gideon Moi, on Wednesday, March 29, spoke on the ongoing Azimio mass action protests, after months of being absent from the frontline.
Moi played cagey with his statement, trading thinly between supporting Azimio La Umoja and criticising the government.
According to the KANU party leader, while the Constitution prescribes the right to picket, Kenyans should remain united despite being on different sides of the political divide.
However, he condemned the chaos witnessed during the two demonstration exercises and the destruction of property.
"Even as we exercise the right to picket under Article 37, we must all be emphatic in denouncing the destruction of private property in any part of this country, be it a stall, shop, supermarket, or even farm," Moi noted in a statement seen by Kenyans.co.ke.
Moi's long-time family friends, the Kenyattas, lost nearly Ksh70 million after rowdy youth raided their Northlands City along Thika Road and Eastern Bypass. Sheep of unknown value were stolen and sold cheaply along the highway, while trees were cut down and security fences destroyed.
The KANU leader also spoke against the escalation of political indifference into religious conflict following the torching of a church and mosque in Kibra.
"Our different political inclinations should not degenerate into religious animosity. The Constitution acknowledges the supremacy of the Almighty God in the Preamble and the freedom of religion, thus reaffirming the importance of religious tolerance despite our beliefs," he noted.
Moi maintained a low profile after the announcement of the August 2022 General Elections and the subsequent Supreme Court ruling on the presidential petition.
Despite KANU being a coalition party member, he did not join co-principals Raila Odinga, Martha Karua, and Kalonzo Musyoka in the mass protests.
Nonetheless, he is not the only Azimio bigwig missing from the demos. Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was also dared to step out and join the protests, with Kenya Kwanza accusing him of financing the demonstrations - an allegation Raila Odinga refuted.
In an interview with BBC on March 26, Azimio chief Raila Odinga confirmed that Uhuru was still part of Azimio but was focused on international affairs.
Odinga maintained that the coalition's leadership was still intact, too, united despite several attempts by President Ruto to dismember the opposition.
He added that he would only hold talks with Ruto if he stopped interfering with the opposition, pushes for the opening of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) servers and lowers the cost of living.
