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Maendeleo Chap Chap (MCC) and Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) recently abandoned Raila’s Azimio la Umoja alliance to join the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, which is led by Ruto.
Announcing the exit, MCC leader Alfred Mutua pointed to unequal treatment of political parties in Odinga’s alliance.
“We have not been part of any decision-making processes on issues involving the coalition,” said Mutua, who is also the governor of Machakos County, which is located south-east of Nairobi.
The dealings in Azimio are done in deep secrecy and mistrust.
This is the same reason given by the PAA, led by Amason Kingi, governor of coastal Kilifi County.
He says his party was denied a copy of the Azimio coalition agreement that they signed a month ago. “The dealings in Azimio are done in deep secrecy and mistrust.”
Amason Kingi: Dealings in Azimio are shrouded in disturbing deep secrets and mistrust, decisions are made by a few and forced down the throats of the majority of the constituent parties. pic.twitter.com/oCpg5t94lN
— KTN News (@KTNNewsKE) May 10, 2022
Ruto signed new agreements with the two parties, which he said would provide a big boost to his chances in the 9 August election. “Welcome to the alliance of democrats, the free and the willing,” he told the two governors.
Legal hurdles
The political reshuffling is mired in legal red tape, however.
Kenya’s Political Parties Dispute Tribunal has dismissed the move by the two parties to shift camp, questioning how they could have signed their original agreement with Odinga’s coalition without reading and understanding its content.
You cannot force me into a political marriage.
According to Article 22(1) of the Azimio la Umoja coalition agreement, the exit of any constituent party requires 90-day notice to the coalition council chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Furthermore, no such request can be made within six months of the general election.
Paul Mwangi, the legal representative of Odinga’s coalition, says the two parties are bound by the agreement they signed and legally remain members of the coalition. “The law is very clear,” he says. “You cannot belong to two coalitions.”
However, the MMC’s leader insists he cannot be forced to be in an association that he is not happy with. “You cannot force me into a political marriage,” Mutua says.
Azimio responds
During a campaign in the PAA stronghold of Kilifi on 11 May, Odinga denounced governor Kingi’s decision. “He has betrayed me,” the Azimio leader told his supporters.
Raila ‘betrayed by Kingi’:
Amason Kingi’s move from AZimio to Kenya Kwanza termed betrayal. Raila takes political battle to Kingi’s rural village of Gongoni.
Raila’s allies from the Coast term Kingi move inconsequential #JKLive pic.twitter.com/EvkjL2Mot3
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) May 11, 2022
On the other hand, Azimio executive director Raphael Tuju insists that though the move by the two parties was unexpected, it is of no consequence because they do not have large followings.
He accuses them of actively negotiating with Ruto’s side all along and seeking the Azimio coalition agreement for benchmarking purposes. “We knew this from our intelligence,” Tuju says. “There was no reason to continue to engage them.”
Kevin Kegoli, a Nairobi-based political analyst, tells The Africa Report that even though the exit of the two parties does not threaten Odinga’s chances, grievances inside the coalition should be addressed to avoid future potential fall-outs.
“All parties, whether small or big, should be treated well in a coalition,” he concluded.
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