Azimio leaders have played down reports that the simmering feud between Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and his Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua forced Raila to cancel a meeting of Azimio leaders last minute.
Speaking to the media, ODM Chairperson John Mbadi explained that the cancellation was caused by the unavailability of party leaders with tight schedules.
He maintained that there was no feud between Kalonzo and Karua following reports that the latter did not want to have the meeting held at the Steven Kalonzo Musyoka Command Centre.
"It has been reported that there are differences between Kalonzo and Karua as she did not want to meet at SKM. We have many places where that meeting would have been moved to," Mbadi stated.
"We have the Jaramogi Foundation, Capital Hill and our parties also have headquarters and the meeting could have been held there. So, I do not think that could have caused the meeting to be cancelled," he added.
On his part, Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni echoed Mbadi's sentiments explaining that most parties had various engagements across the country.
He added that the Azimio leadership did not want to leave any of the parties out of the crucial meeting.
"The activities of the coalition parties were such that it could not have allowed the parties to come together," he stated.
Raila was at the coast with his troops on an ODM recruitment drive while former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who served as the council chairperson, was in Uganda for engagements with President Yoweri Museveni.
The Azimio meeting convened by former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya was scheduled for Thursday, with reports indicating that the parties were to find solutions to their emerging differences.
Opposition parties took different stands over the National Dialogue Committee report which was partly adopted by ODM and Wiper. Narc Kenya and Jubilee rejected the report.
Among the key recommendations were the audit of the 2022 electoral process, the entrenchment of NG-CDF, the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), and the Senate Oversight Fund and the establishment and entrenchment of state offices - the office of the Prime Minister and the opposition leader.
On the other hand, succession politics has also caused the rise of splinter groups within Azimio. In particular, Kalonzo and Karua have differed publicly on the Azimio Mt Kenya caucus, Kamwene.
"This thing means individualism. It's a terrible political philosophy. I would advise my friends to leave it and we stick together in Azimio," Kalonzo stated during an interview on KTN News.
"What about Kamwene scares my brother Kalonzo Musyoka that he must drag it in every conversation he has?" Karua responded.
