Daggers have been drawn within Azimio la Umoja Coalition over the most suitable candidates to join lawmakers in the upcoming bipartisan talks to broker a truce between President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Kileleshwa Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MCA Robert Alai decried a push by Martha Karua to have embattled Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni as part of Azimio's five-member team.
An agreement reached between the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition and the opposition allowed each side to front a team of five including three lawmakers and two members outside Parliament.
According to Alai, Azimio had settled on Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka and former CS Eugene Wamalwa as the non-Parliament members.
The decision, however, unsettled a section of the coalition's members who demanded a representative from the Mt Kenya region to form part of the team.
"Eugene Wamalwa and Kalonzo Musyoka were suggested to be the members from outside Parliament. Martha Karua protested saying there was no way Kioni could not be part of that because Mt Kenya should be represented," he stated.
The MCA objected to the demand insisting that ODM demanded a bigger share of the team since it contributed a larger voting block during the August 2022 General Election.
He argued that Raila, who was concerned with ironing out issues pertaining to Jubilee Party wrangles, was more concerned about pleasing his co-principals instead of positioning ODM party ahead of the 2027 General Election.
"My problem is that President Uhuru Kenyatta, Martha Karua, Gideon Moi, and George Wajackoyah are misusing Raila. We must fight for our own position for ODM. ODM must be ready for the 2027 elections. We must rebrand the party, and make it interesting for the young people," he added.
"Raila is spending more time talking about the demands of Uhuru and Martha Karua. He is talking about political parties' democracy and Jubilee being destroyed. We need to focus on other things. There are our members who were targeted, shot at and imprisoned."
Kenyans.co.ke's attempt for comment from Kioni over his membership in the bipartisan team was unsuccessful but in an earlier interview on Monday, July 31, he confirmed that the team had already been drafted.
The former Ndaragwa MP, however, remained mum on the identities of the participants.
"We have the five members but we will not mention them. However, the number will continue to rise as we deliberate further. It is good to respect Raila because, after his talks with the government (Ruto), he stated that he could not agree with anything until discussing it with his people," he stated.
"Raila gave our demands but Ruto stated that the cost of living will not be addressed. Raila questioned why the cost of living will not be addressed while people die on the streets."
In a press conference on Sunday, the ODM leader warned the Kenya Kwanza regime against interfering in the issues they seek to raise.
"It is our position that no party to these negotiations can and should determine for the other what to raise and what not to raise," he stated.
"We will respect Kenya Kwanza’s right to bring all its issues to the table. Likewise, we expect Kenya Kwanza to have no objection to our priorities."
Raila had for long accused the Ruto-led regime of applying underhand tactics in frustrating Jubilee Party headed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
