Since losing the 2023 presidential election, the outfit has been on the road to self-immolation and its leaders have sworn that they will not go down alone.
They want to tag the entire country along with them. They don’t care about the debilitating repercussions of their unpatriotic actions as long as their selfish goal is achieved. It is unfortunate. So where did the rain start beating the opposition?
Azimio as a political outfit was formed last year with the sole purpose of receiving the instruments of power from the then President Uhuru Kenyatta on a silver platter.
President Kenyatta was on his way to retirement after serving the constitutionally permitted two five-year terms. The outfit heavily relied on the support of the former President for victory and was convinced that its match to State House was unstoppable.
My colleague in the National Assembly, Minority leader and Azimio secretary general Junet Mohammed, is credited with coining the phrase “Hii imeenda” (this is gone), a coded message to their competitors that the presidential election was already won—by Raila Odinga, the Azimio presidential candidate. Subsequently, the catchy phrase became very popular in addition to becoming an internet sensation.
The false confidence of taking power for Azimio had stemmed from the fact that the outfit had full backing of the state and state machineries, or so they thought. Civil servants, who are expected to be apolitical, were rounded up to support Azimio. Chiefs were given marching orders to actively campaign for Raila and state resources were mobilised to support their grassroots campaign activities.
The mission aborted in August 2022 at the Bomas of Kenya after the then chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Wafula Chebukati, declared William Ruto, the presidential candidate of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, as the victor of the 2022 election. This marked the turning point for Azimio leaders as they never imagined that fate would place them in opposition, again.
Smarting from the loss, Azimio hibernated for a few weeks before resurfacing, this time rallying its troops to flood the streets to fight for an imaginary “electoral justice”, claiming that their victory was stolen. And how were they going to fight for electoral justice? They chose the old beaten path—street protests, picketing, boycotts and demonstrations.
In this country, protests for whatever cause by the opposition have a different connotation. While the opposition may have good intentions, experience has taught us that violence, wanton destruction of properties, burglary and loss of lives by both protesters and innocent Kenyans is a common feature.
It was my hope that given the challenges the country is currently facing—a ruined economy, high unemployment among the youth, high cost of living and inflation—all which the government is trying to solve, Kenyans would have been spared the indignity of having to endure another round of needless street protests.
That is, however, not going to happen for on Tuesday this week, at a political rally at Kamukunji grounds, Kibra constituency, Azimio leaders announced the resumption of “countrywide demonstrations” that will commence with a rally planned on July 7, at the same venue.
“We are asserting our sovereignty. Civil disobedience begins with personal actions. We begin today, and we will continue progressively. Discreetly and publicly, culminating in an official start of mass countrywide demonstrations,” Raila said.
The planned protests are ostensibly a reaction to the indefinite suspension of the bipartisan talks and the Finance Bill, 2023 passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Ruto.
If Azimio makes good its threats, it will not be in the public interest but a continuation of a well laid out plan to sabotage the government and our economy.
Following that declaration, Kenyans are now panic-stricken. They don’t know what will transpire. We expect businesses in some parts of the country to close for fear of being raided by thugs as it happened in the past.
It is a precarious situation in which we find ourselves in but one which the opposition revels in. Everyone expected that reason would prevail and that Azimio would explore alternative means like the constitutionally provided pathways to seek their so called “justice”.
Regrettably the approach they relish is the path to violence and destruction, because their interest is not to fight for Kenyans but to prove a point. A political one at that.
As things stand, opposition is indisputably a monument of national shame and ridicule. This is because it is not the saviour it hoodwinked its supporters it is. Kenyans are obliged to ignore an outfit that operates like a militia group often obsessed with civil disobedience oblivious of the fact that their actions compromise peace, security and our image on the international arena.
Narc Kenya leader, Martha Karua, speaking at the Kamukunji grounds rally, laid bare the real intention of opposition which for long time has been a well-kept secret.
“The Republic of Kenya has ceased to exist and in its place a colonial, exploitative regime which we must oppose,” she said. Karua stretched the limits of logic by declaring that “the Republic of Kenya has ceased to exist”.
Everyone knows that this is a lie. But then, it is a testament of how Azimio has become a symbol of national shame.
MDG party leader and Ugenya MP
