• Talk has been rife about apparent instability in the Azimio coalition after co-principals differed publicly on several fronts.
• Karua and embattled Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni have been holding Kamwene meetings in the Mt Kenya region to address concerns affecting the region.
Image: RAILA ODINGA/X
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has dispelled as "people’s imagination" talks about there being a rift in the Azimio La Umoja Coalition party.
Speaking after Wiper National Executive Council meeting at the party headquarters in Nairobi, the Azimio co-principal said the opposition coalition is as solid as ever.
"There is no such thing as Azimio La Umoja Coalition falling apart. It’s all in people’s imagination because we are committed. Differences in opinions here and there cannot be taken as problems within the coalition," he said.
Kalonzo who spoke on a day Azimio leader Raila Odinga was hosting ODM delegates in Vihiga County said the coalition is as committed as ever to its vision forged ahead of the 2022 polls.
He said he had spoken to Kanu party leader Gideon Moi who equally expressed unwavering fidelity to the coalition's mission.
"He is also solidly with us because when we were organising those demonstrations, Gideon was also represented by the secretary general bwana Wainaina.
"We are very determined more than ever before to forge a unified position as Azimio La Umoja One Kenya. The coalition is as strong as ever," he said.
Talk has been rife about apparent instability in the Azimio coalition after co-principals differed publicly on several fronts including whether or not the National Dialogue Committee report should be endorsed as is.
The latest sign of trouble within the outfit emerged when Kalonzo and his Narc Kenya counterpart Martha Karua with whom he has equal status in Azimio clashed over the former's association with Kamwene, a new political outfit domiciled in Mt Kenya.
In an interview on KTN, on Tuesday, January 9, Kalonzo dismissed Kamwene as a tribal outfit that was "dead on arrival" saying it promotes individualism and could potentially cause tribal divisions within Azimio.
"I don't want to pass judgment on that issue but have you heard of things like dead on arrival? 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 said.
Karua and embattled Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni have been holding Kamwene meetings in the Mt Kenya region to address concerns affecting the region.
Kamwene is a Kikuyu word meaning 'the owner'.
Kalonzo asked Karua to drop the outfit terming it as one that lacks vitality and steers away from the Azimio vision of unity of purpose.
In her response, Karua wondered what it was about Kamwene that had the Wiper leader jittery.
"What about Kamwene scares my brother Kalonzo Musyoka that he must drag it in every conversation he has?" Karua asked on X.