Suna East MP Junet Mohamed has objected to the revival of the Azimio La Umoja Coalition Party and the appointment of Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka as its leader.
Azimio was a conglomerate of over 16 political parties, and a ticket with which the late Raila Odinga sought the presidency in 2022.
The coalition remained active post-election, and even advanced vibrant anti-government protests, until July 2024, when it went inactive after Raila formulated an arrangement with President William Ruto, which saw some ranking members of the ODM party joining the Cabinet.
On February 2, in a bid to revive the coalition, former president Uhuru Kenyatta, in his capacity as Azimio council chairman, appointed Kalonzo the leader of the coalition.
Reacting to the development, Junet noted the appointment was out of order, noting it was unprocedural.
The MP went after Kalonzo, accusing him of ignorantly embracing Uhuru’s appointment despite being aware it was against the deed of the coalition, which was presented to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP).
“Kalonzo, as senior counsel, I am sure you know that Azimio has a legal document deposited with ORPP. You decided not to follow the provisions of the document to make the changes you purported to have made,” Junet told Kalonzo.
The MP, who served as the secretary general of Azimio, also took issue with Kalonzo for laying blame on President William Ruto’s regime for the decision by the government printer to invalidate his appointment by refusing to gazette it.
Junet asked Kalonzo to follow the set procedures for him to substantively take over the coalition as its leader.
He also wondered why Kalonzo had developed an interest in Azimio months after claiming the coalition was long dead.
“Stop blaming other people and follow the right procedure as enshrined in our Azimio deed of agreement. The document that took you nine hours of persuasion to sign the day the coalition was formed. Stick to your Wiper party and make changes as you wish. You told us six months ago that Azimio is dead, but now you think you can resurrect it for your own selfish and parochial use,” Junet went on.
Junet’s arguments came days after the ODM party contested the leadership changes, arguing that the move contravened the coalition’s founding agreement.
In a letter to the Registrar of Political Parties dated Thursday, February 5, ODM Executive Director Oduor Ong’wen questioned the legality of the meeting that endorsed the changes, stressing that such decisions must adhere strictly to the coalition’s Deed of Agreement.
ODM emphasised that the agreement clearly outlines how the Coalition Council is constituted and how leadership appointments or removals should be handled.
The party maintained that the authority to appoint or dismiss coalition officials lies collectively with leaders of all constituent parties, not with any single individual or the council acting independently.
ODM further noted that its party leader, explicitly recognised as a key stakeholder in the agreement, was neither consulted nor informed about the purported changes.
Consequently, ODM declared that the meeting and its resolutions lack legal validity, as they breached the coalition’s governing document.
The party has now urged the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to suspend any actions stemming from the disputed meeting until both the law and the coalition agreement are fully respected.
This dispute follows Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s announcement of his appointment as Azimio’s Party Leader.
In his statement on Tuesday, February 3, Kalonzo confirmed he had accepted the role and expressed gratitude to Azimio’s senior leadership and constituent parties for entrusting him with the position.
