Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party has released a statement on the Bi-partisan approach talks, accusing their counterparts, the Kenya Kwanza party, of exhibiting absolute bad faith in their attempts to hold national dialogue.
The statement, released on April 18th, 2023 by the leadership of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, including members of parliament, outlined several grievances that have led to the breakdown of the Bi-partisan dialogue between the two parties.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party accuses the Kenya Kwanza party of failing to capture the entire framework for Bi-partisan talks when they invited them for talks. Key issues, such as the cost of living and electoral justice, were left out of the speech by President William Ruto.
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The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party also accuses the Kenya Kwanza party of delaying in naming their team and including members of the Azimio Coalition in their team when respect for multiparty democracy was one of the issues put on the table.
Furthermore, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party accuses the Kenya Kwanza party of stonewalling by failing to name the leadership of its team.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party claims that they learned of a motion drafted by the Kenya Kwanza party aimed at setting up a joint select committee on Bi-partisan talks in Parliament
The motion, according to the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, is in absolute bad faith for various reasons, including the fact that the Azimio Coalition in Parliament was neither aware nor consulted in its drafting.
The motion also purports to name members of the Minority Party to the so-called select committee without any reference to the Minority leadership in violation of the Standing Orders of both houses.
The motion also purports to set the terms of reference and scope of the discussions without any reference to the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party insists that the dialogue must be about all four issues, namely the cost of unga, fuel and electricity, forensic audit of the servers, bipartisan reconstitution of the IEBC, and respect for multiparty democracy.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party accuses the Kenya Kwanza party of trying to dictate what they can bring to the table. Given the foregoing, the leadership of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party has resolved to remain committed to an extra parliamentary dialogue that is honest, transparent, meaningful, and bipartisan in conception and execution.
Their members of parliament in both houses shall not be party to any other process and particularly not the one proposed in the motion by Kenya Kwanza.
The leadership of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party has instructed the Chairperson of their team to formally invite the Kenya Kwanza team for a meeting to set the ground rules for the Bi-partisan talks.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party reiterates that their issues remain what they said they are: reduction in the cost of unga, fuel, electricity, and school fees; opening and audit of IEBC servers; bipartisan reform and reconstitution of IEBC, reinstatement of the four IEBC commissioners, and an end to the buying of MPs which threatens multiparty democracy.
The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party also calls for the regime to immediately take up the hospital bills of all Kenyans who sustained injuries as a result of police brutality during the recent protests and pay reparations for those who lost property.
The coalition shall resume its weekly protests at the end of Ramadhan, and there shall be further communication in this regard.
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