Scramble for Cabinet gathers pace as Azimio leaders disagree

President William Ruto. He has dangled seven cabinet slots to the Azimio coalition. [PCS] The political class is already fighting internal wars, jostling for Cabinet positions, even as Gen Z and the Church push for the appointment of professional and apolitical individuals. The push by Kenyans has been to end the practice of dishing out CS positions as rewards to political cronies. Multiple sources, however, have revealed to The Standard that President William Ruto has dangled seven slots to the Azimio coalition to be shared by sister parties within the coalition. ODM is reportedly demanding four out of the seven, with the remaining three to be shared between Wiper, Jubilee, and the Democratic Action Party. Sources within the opposition have revealed that while ODM supports the broad-based government proposal by the President to steer the country out of the current crisis caused by protests organised by Gen Z, the Azimio constituent parties have rejected the proposal, terming it "Ruto's plan to sanitise himself." ODM's joint meeting of both the Parliamentary Group and the National Executive Committee of the party endorsed the call by the Central Committee for a national conversation and a broad-based government. However, another faction of Azimio led by Wiper's Kalonzo Musyoka opposed both the talks and the broad-based government on Wednesday. "The intrigues are real, and it is tearing Azimio apart because Raila wants to drag other parties into government while we believe it will spoil our chances for 2027. This will attract blanket condemnation from Gen Z, who may determine the 2027 ballot," a source within the Azimio ranks told The Standard on the phone. According to the source, Kalonzo had become an important commodity in the would-be government of national unity because Ruto does not want to repeat the misdeeds of his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, who only incorporated Raila into his administration. "If Raila goes alone to Ruto's government, it will not be considered a broad-based government. It will be seen as one community joining the government, and that is why other affiliate parties to Azimio are being coerced to join," another source from within the Azimio ranks said, requesting anonymity. This, the source said, is what informed the disruption of Kalonzo's statement on Wednesday at the Jaramogi Odinga Odinga Foundation (JOOF), as some quarters within the opposition did not want the statement deemed opposed to Azimio joining the government.Kalonzo was pushing for the implementation of the official leader of the opposition position as enshrined in the Nadco report, which may later catapult him to Ruto's worthy opponent in 2027 as Raila's candidature for African Union Commission (AUC) chair will have edged him out. Yesterday, Raila apologised for the chaos witnessed, terming it unfortunate. He said the coalition would take stock of the events and seal loopholes that led to the security breach.Through his spokesman Dennis Onyango, Raila said that even though some are known, many of the youths who stormed the premises are unknown to the parties. "The Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation (JOOF), the venue of Wednesday's meeting, has successfully hosted important events at more defining moments in the country, without any such ugly incidents," Raila said. In an interview with The Standard on Thursday, Kalonzo said that should ODM agree to the Kenya Kwanza overtures, that will not be the position of Azimio. It would be Ruto's continuous habit of 'infidelity to multiparty democracy.' "If Ruto appoints an Azimio member without reference and concurrence of the larger coalition, that will be raiding our membership as he did to the Jubilee party and Azimio constituent parties, and a contravention of the Nadco report that his representatives and us signed last year," Kalonzo said. Karua, who has given Azimio activities a wide berth since the inception of the Nadco report, has also threatened that Azimio will break away should one of its members entertain Ruto's overtures to join the government. She said any move to have a broad-based government as a cosmetic change is to save itself, and said she has not heard of any compensation or apology for those who lost their lives or were injured during the protests. Azimio withdrawal "So, if they go into government, it will not be us - Azimio. And if they go as Azimio, then we will withdraw immediately. There's no two ways. We can't be in a forced marriage. We do not want anybody pouring cold water on the genuine demands for accountability by Gen Z. We should not aid and abet Kenyans being given a pacifier like William Ruto did during NADCO. Dialogue was a pacifier in the mouth of a crying child," she said. However, Kalonzo separately said it would be cautious to call for Azimio's dissolution. While the political class continues to plot and strategise for political appointments into the Cabinet, a move political strategists have associated with delays in naming the Cabinet, the church and Gen Z are opposed to awarding political cronies and want Ruto to go for professionals. National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) General Secretary Canon Rev Chris Kinyanjui objected to any form of a broad-based government, saying it was not on the list of demands by Gen Z, wondering whether the President had listened to the aspirations of the youth. "The Gen Z issues were all about compliance with the constitution, corruption, wastage of public resources, change of attitude and behavior, but I'm afraid that a broad-based administration was not part of their complaints. Listening is a bit of a challenge in this administration, but as a church, we shall continue asking for accountability from the government," he told the Standard on the phone.

Scramble for Cabinet gathers pace as Azimio leaders disagree

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