Principals move fast to forestall Azimio collapse
Azimio principals retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, ODM party leader Raila Odinga and Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka have moved to forestall imminent fallout within the coalition.
They are said to have reached out to the Senate Minority leadership to find out why senators want some leaders replaced.
Raila is said to have invited all the Azimio Senators at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation today for a meeting to iron out the differences amongst them.
Yesterday, the Senate Minority leader Stewart Madzayo (Kilifi) his deputy Enock Wambua (Kitui), Minority Whip Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo) and her deputy Ledama Ole Kina (Narok) dispelled fears that divisions had rocked the coalition.
Last week, the Senate amended the composition of its representation to the powerful Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) where Dullo was replaced her with Okong’o O’mogeni (Nyamira).
Parliamentary Group
Following the move, the Jubilee faction threatened to convene a Parliamentary Group meeting to pull out of the coalition citing unfair treatment from their sibling, the Orange party.
But yesterday, Senate minority Leadership said that the Coalition is intact and there is no division among themselves.
“We are united and there is no division amongst us. Any communication at the Senate touching on the Minority side will come from me,” said Madzayo.
The leaders further dismissed allegations that a section of the Azimio Senators had hatched a plot to pass a vote of no confidence on Dullo following her differences with Omogeni especially on allocation of committee slots on the representation to PSC.
Speaking during a press conference in Parliament yesterday, Madzayo said that only he can speak on behalf of the Azimio Senate leadership and no one else.
“We have had discussions and consultation with our principals and we want to make it clear to Kenyans and the public at large that as Azimio in the Senate we are one and working as a team,” he said.
The assurance came after Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna claimed some 22 out of 29 Azimio senators had signed a petition to remove Dullo from her minority whip seat.
According to Sifuna, some senators allied to Azimio wants Dullo out of the position on what he termed as ‘insatiable greed and gross incompetence’.
Legal means
“She knows what she has done. Her conscious should direct her to resign. If she does not, we will use legal means to weed her out,” Sifuna. “From what she has done, her conscious should direct her to resign, otherwise, we are going for her.”
Sifuna has also accused the Isiolo lawmaker of incompetence and for failing to be considerate amongst the Senators she is supposed to whip, adding that her office requires a dedicated and a selfless leader.
“If you look at how she has handled the office for the few months she has been there, you will see that she is incompetent. She has proved beyond reasonable doubt that she is not fit for the office,” he said.
But Dullo responded saying that she was the most qualified for the position having served as deputy majority leader in the last Senate. “I know that he wants the position for himself. It is not a matter of life and death for me. If I am to leave, then it is not him to decide but the Azimio principals who recommended me for the job.”
Masters in Law
She went on: “I was in the leadership in the last House. I have a Masters in Law. Who else could be more qualified than me when it comes to experience?”
However, Madzayo clarified that as the list of signatures to remove Dullo ought to have originated from his office, urging the Senators and other stakeholders to treat it as null and void.
“We hear that there is a list of signatures going rounds. That list did not come from me or from the leadership. It does not carry the picture of Azimio team in the Senate. It is null and void,” said Madzayo.
Madzayo was accompanied by Dullo, Wambua and Ole Kina.
