The political class is already engaged in civil war, fighting over cabinet posts, while Gen Z and the church are pushing for the appointment of experts and apolitical minds.
Kenyans have been calling for an end to the practice of awarding CS positions as rewards to political cronies.
However, sources told The Standard that President William Ruto has offered the Azimio coalition seven seats to be shared among its sister parties. ODM is reportedly seeking four of the seven seats, with the remaining three to be shared among Wiper, Jubilee and the Democratic Action Party.
Opposition sources said ODM supports the president’s wide-ranging government proposals to steer the country out of the current crisis sparked by protests organised by Gen Z, but Azimio’s constituent parties have rejected the proposals, calling them “Ruto’s self-cleansing plan”.
A joint meeting of ODM’s parliamentary group and the party’s national executive committee endorsed the central committee’s call for a national dialogue and a broad-based government, but another Azimio faction, led by Wiper Kalonzo Musyoka, on Wednesday opposed both the dialogue and a broad-based government.
“The conspiracies are real and Azimio is divided because Raila wants to bring other parties into power. We believe it will damage their chances in the 2027 elections. This will invite a full-scale condemnation from Gen Z who could decide the 2027 elections,” an Azimio source told the Standard by phone.
Sources said Kalonzo was important to the new government of national unity because Ruto did not want to repeat the bad practices of his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, who only brought Raila into the government. “If Raila joins Ruto’s government alone, it will not be considered a broad-based government. It will be considered a community joining the government. That is why Azimio’s other affiliated parties will be forced to join,” said another source in Azimio’s camp, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sources said this was the reason why Kalonzo’s statement at the Jaramogi Odinga Odinga Foundation (JOOF) on Wednesday was disrupted as some in the opposition did not want the statement to be seen as being against Azimio joining the government.
Kalonzo has been pushing for the implementation of the official opposition leadership position outlined in the NADCO report, which could make him a strong challenger to Ruto in 2027 should Raila win his candidacy for African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.
Raila apologised yesterday for the chaos he witnessed, calling it “unfortunate”. He said the coalition would review the incident and close the loopholes that led to the security breach.
Raila, through his spokesman, Dennis Onyango, said some of the youths who stormed into the compound were known but many were unknown to officials.
“The Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation (JOOF), which was the venue for Wednesday’s meeting, has successfully hosted important events at key junctures for the country without any such ugly incidents,” Raila said.
In an interview with the Standard on Thursday, Kalonzo said even if ODM agreed to Kenya’s Kwanzaa proposal, it was not Azimio’s position and it would be Ruto’s continuing habit of “disloyalty to multiparty democracy”.
“If Mr Ruto appoints Azimio members without the consultation and consent of the grand coalition government, it will be an attack on our members, just as he did on Jubilee Party and Azimio component parties, and will be in breach of the NADCO report that we signed with Mr Ruto’s representatives last year,” Kalonzo said.
Mr Kaluuah, who has been keeping a close eye on Azimio’s activities since the release of the NADCO report, has also warned that Azimio will quit if any of its members accepts Mr Ruto’s offer to join the government.
She said the move to form a broad-based government as a cosmetic change was aimed at saving itself, and said she had heard no talk of compensation or apologies for those killed or injured during the protests.
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Azimio retreats
“So, if they come to power, it will not be us Azimio. And if they come to power as Azimio, we will immediately back out. There is no choice. We cannot be forced marriages. We do not want people who will pour cold water on the sincere demand for accountability by Gen Z. We should not abet Kenyans being given a pacifier like William Ruto was with NADCO. Dialogue is like a pacifier in the mouth of a crying child,” she said.
However, Mr Kalonzo separately said he would be cautious about calling for Mr Azimio’s dismissal.
Political strategists have linked the move to the delay in nominating ministers as the political class continues to plan and strategize over the appointment of political talent to the cabinet. Meanwhile, the church and Gen Z are opposed to the appointment of political cronies and want Ruto to choose professionals.
The Secretary General of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), Rev Chris Kinyanjui, opposed any form of broad-based government, saying it was not on Gen Z’s list of demands and questioned whether the President had listened to the aspirations of young people.
“Generation Z’s issues were around adherence to the constitution, corruption, waste of public resources, change in attitudes and behaviour etc but I regret that the broader administration was not part of their grievances. It is a bit difficult to get a listening ear with the current administration but as a church we will continue to demand accountability from the government,” he told The Standard over the phone.
