NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 14 — Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot has fired back at the opposition Azimio alliance over its decision to resume street protests parallel with bi-partisan talks in Parliament.
“Is it bipartisan talks or the streets, you cannot have it both ways. No double chance betting. You must at least believe in something,” Cheruiyot tweeted Friday following Raila Odinga’s announcement on Thursday.
His remarks suggested that the government side would not engage Azimio should they make good their plan to hold parallel political activities including the weekly protests that have had a heavy toll on the economy.
Odinga announced the resumption of bi-weekly protests after the conclusion of the Ramadan festivities during a Town Hall meeting in Nairobi.
“We have listened to you in this forum that we should continue with dialogue even as we stage demonstrations. We will continue with demonstrations and we will announce when the protest will be held after the Ramadan period,” he said.
Prior to convening the Town Hall, Odinga who halted the protests after heeding to President William Ruto’s call for dialogue said Azimio would resist “a Ruto-controlled Parliament”.
Extra-parliamentary process
Odinga unveiled a series of public engagements including which he says were aimed at informing his supports of the progress of the engagement with government.
His side has insisted on an extra-parliamentary process naming three non-legislators to join its seven-member team of negotiators.
The coalition’s seven-member team led by Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo issued the demand on Thursday.
Speaking to news reporters at a Nairobi hotel, Amollo insisted that the process cannot be strictly parliamentary citing public participation concerns.
“Our Constitution requires that any engage involved the public there must be public participation. It [talks] can end up in Parliament but it can’t be strictly Parliament. To say that the process is strictly parliamentary is defeatist,” he said.
He said the team had appointed Azimio Spokesperson Makau Mutua and Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni as Assisting Counsel. They also named Odinga’s attorney Paul Mwangi as joint secretary.
The inclusion of three non-lawmakers in Azimio’s team complicated matters with Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Coalition having insisted that the process must be strictly parliamentary.
The prospects of talks were further compounded by Azimio’s demand for Kenya Kwanza to drop Eldas MP Adan Kenyan (Jubilee Party) insisting that he belongs to a constituent party of the coalition.
In an apparent move to appease disgruntled members of the Jubilee Party, Azimio included Kioni (Secretary General) who is facing a leadership contest from the party’s lawmakers all of whom have decamped to Ruto’s side.
