Azimio leader Raila Odinga is today expected to chair crisis talks following mounting resistance to his anti-government protest rallies and poaching of opposition lawmakers by President Ruto.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Parliamentary Group meeting comes on the eve of the first anti-Ruto rally outside Nairobi, which is scheduled for Mavoko in Machakos County.
It also comes on the back of a sustained onslaught by the President, who has met opposition legislators in successive days —Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MPs on Tuesday followed by Jubilee Party lawmakers yesterday, raising the stakes ahead of the reopening of Parliament next week.
Most ODM and Jubilee MPs snubbed the first three rallies in Nairobi, with rising calls within the opposition ranks that the protest movement Mr Odinga has unveiled after branding President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza government illegitimate as counter-productive.
Sources told Nation that, in the meetings with the opposition lawmakers, the President said his government won’t interfere with the rallies but discouraged them from supporting the protest meetings that were inflaming tensions.
United front
At the meeting today in Stoni Athi, the minority leadership is also expected to rally supporters to stand united in Parliament in the face of persistent overtures by the ruling coalition that is seeking to bolster numbers to push its agenda in the House.
The mini-budget to ratify the reallocations by the new government, including the establishment of the multibillion-shilling Hustler Fund, is among the priority agenda, with opposition lawmakers expected to protest lavish spending by the new administration at a time it has complained that the country is broke.
ODM Leader Raila Odinga this afternoon held a consultative meeting with his deputies Wycliffe Oparanya and Hassan Ali Joho at a Nairobi Hotel where they discussed party matters and the ongoing people’s consultative forums that are spearheaded by the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition. Also present was National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohammed.
Photo credit: Pool
The Budget and Appropriation Committee is today expected to get a brief from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) on the supplementary budget ahead of its consideration by the National Assembly.
The creation of the Office of Leader of Opposition is also expected to be explored by MPs with the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee set to draft the necessary amendments to the Constitution to set up the office which must be approved by the House.
Also, the Committee on Powers and Privileges chaired by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula is also expected to spearhead the review of Standing Orders in order to allow Cabinet Secretaries to appear before the House and answer questions directly from members.
The opposition side has vowed to reject these changes. Mr Odinga warned in December that they will not accept a Bill from the government that limits the role of the opposition.
President Ruto wrote to Parliament last December calling for a constitutional amendment to establish the Office of the Leader of Opposition.
Azimio leaders have insisted that, for CSs to appear before the House, it will require a referendum because the move changes the structure of governance, a position disputed by the ruling coalition and Attorney-General Justin Muturi.
The two committees are expected to bring their reports before the House on the best way the two requests of President Ruto can be accommodated without subjecting the country to a referendum. Yesterday, Azimio Secretary-General Junet Mohamed sought to downplay the significance of today’s meeting.
“You know a new session is starting next week, so it’s just our normal housekeeping business as we tell our members what we expect from them,” Mr Mohammed said. The National Assembly Minority Whip said none of the nine members of ODM who met President Ruto on Tuesday will be de-whipped from their committees.
“We are not removing anyone from any committee, that you can be sure of,” Mr Mohamed said.
Public meetings
Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni told Nation the meeting will provide the coalition with an opportunity to discuss with members how best to proceed with the public meetings.
ODM chairman John Mbadi said the meeting will provide the coalition with an opportunity to have a conversation within itself on the issues affecting it.
“It is time to sit together as a House and confront our challenges. Even if we are having internal problems, we cannot run away from our own house,” Mr Mbadi said. The rival coalitions have also traded accusations about splashing money to advance their causes.
“The Nyanza MPs [were given] Sh1 million each to skip the Azimio retreat and for mobilisation of locals in the region to support government activities,” claimed an MP., who never provided evidence. Nation could not independently confirm the reports.
But Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo, who was among those at the State House meeting on Tuesday, said his re-election was due to his track record and not party loyalty.
Sources claimed that MPs attending the Azimio PG meeting will be paid between Sh200,000 and Sh300,000.
“We have been promised over Sh200,000 each. We will be getting [the money] daily,” said an MP who didn’t want to be named. This was confirmed by another Azimio MP, who said the legislators need financial support when engaging in party affairs.
