Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua and her DAP-Kenya counterpart Eugene Wamalwa have triggered jitters in Azimio with their dismissal of the bipartisan talks team report.
The two opposition chiefs have departed from the position taken by Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka and rejected the report as a fraud and waste of taxpayers money.
“It is a fraud which Kenyans should frown upon and reject. It is a distracting national smokescreen,” Karua said in a hard-hitting statement on Thursday.
This comes barely a week after Raila and Kalonzo backed the report filed by the National Dialogue Committee picked by President William Ruto and Raila.
Wamalwa, who was a member of the committee, was the first to reject the report, saying it did not address the issue of the cost of living.
“I didn’t and will not append my signature to the NADCO report and have not and will not accept any sitting allowance for the same because I believe we did not do justice to the single most important issue to Kenyans; the cost of living,” he said.
The development has triggered talk of cracks in the opposition coalition that could threaten its existence slightly a year after they lost election to President Ruto.
The Azimio principals’ failure to read from the same script on the NADCO report that was filed following massive protests by the opposition points to a division that could consume the outfit.
Karua is among the opposition leaders set to benefit if the government implements the report that among others seeks to introduce the position of Leader of Official Opposition and two deputies.
Karua was Raila’s running mate in last year’s polls, and thus likely to land one of the slots.
However, Karua, known for her outspokenness, has opposed the report with observers indicating that it would be difficult for Raila and Kalonzo to contain her.
Karua conspicuously skipped the Azimio meeting where Raila and Kalonzo declared the coalition’s support for the report.
The meeting was among many Azimio meetings that the Narc Kenya leader has failed to attend in the recent months.
Raila and Kalonzo have maintained a close relationship since the last election with the two attending events together, including in their own backyards.
In fact, some in Raila’s ODM quarters have backed Kalonzo as Azimio’s presidential candidate in 2027 general election, a fact that could be rubbing Karua the wrong way.
In October, Raila showered Kalonzo with praises for standing with him in his political journey.
He said Kalonzo has stood firm with him despite not being selected as his running mate for the August 9, 2022, presidential elections.
“Kalonzo has a good heart, hardworking and one you can trust, he is also a Christian. He is trustworthy and loving,” Raila said, hinting at backing him.
However, Raila later clarified that he did not endorse Kalonzo for the country’s top seat, saying that he only praised Kalonzo for his strong decision to support him in successive elections.
“In his speech, Odinga clarifies that his praises for HE Kalonzo Musyoka for standing with him in three successive elections, his strong Christian values and the support Musyoka has built across the country was not an endorsement of Mr Musyoka as the Azimio presidential candidate in 2027,” Raila's spokesperson Dennis Onyango said.
“His words of praise for Mr Musyoka were therefore not intended to mean he had or intends to quit active politics.”