Uhuru, Kalonzo dealt blow as registrar halts bid to take over Azimio

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka/HANDOUT

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka have suffered a setback after the Registrar of Political Parties suspended leadership changes within the Azimio La Umoja–One Kenya Coalition Party.

Registrar John Cox Lorianokou announced the temporary halt following a complaint from ODM, a key coalition partner, which said it was neither consulted nor involved in the decisions.

“These are intended changes, until all objections by aggrieved individual parties are addressed,” Lorianokou said.

Once the dispute is resolved, the registrar said he would take the necessary legal steps under Section 20 of the Political Parties Act (Cap 7D), which governs the registration and regulation of political parties and coalitions.

The changes were announced by Kenyatta after chairing an Azimio Council meeting that resolved to restructure the coalition’s leadership.

In the shake-up, Kalonzo was named coalition party leader, replacing former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Suba South MP Caroli Omondi was appointed secretary general, taking over from Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, pending ratification by the registrar.

ODM swiftly rejected the changes, terming them irregular and in violation of the Azimio Deed of Agreement.

In a letter to the registrar, ODM executive director Oduor Ong’wen said the party leader of ODM — an expressly named and key constituent member of the coalition — was neither consulted nor involved in the purported resolutions.

“It is our considered position that the meeting and its resolutions were ultra vires, in contravention of the express provisions of the Deed of Agreement, and are therefore null and void,” Ong’wen said.

ODM asked the registrar to suspend and freeze implementation of the resolutions pending full compliance with the coalition agreement and the applicable legal framework.

The party argued that the power to effect leadership changes does not rest with a single party leader but collectively with the leaders of Azimio’s constituent parties — namely ODM, Jubilee and the Wiper Democratic Movement.

Other affiliate parties also objected to the restructuring. In a separate letter to the registrar, National Liberal Party secretary general Ishmael Omondi Koyoo accused some coalition partners of political deceit. He claimed a non-procedural meeting had been convened to fill vacant positions and remove officials from both the National Executive Committee and the Council.

“The above actions go against the founding principles of inclusivity, transparency and accountability that Azimio espouses,” the letter stated.

The affiliates said they rejected the resolutions in totality and cautioned the registrar against processing what they described as illegal and null decisions.

Speaking in Mombasa during an ODM National Executive Committee meeting, ODM leader Oburu Odinga declared the changes invalid. He insisted that ODM’s concurrence is mandatory in any restructuring of the coalition.

“There’s nobody who can make a decision in Azimio without the concurrence of ODM. You cannot purport to appoint a new leader of Azimio excluding and bypassing this party called ODM,” Oburu said.

He further claimed that ODM had effectively exited the coalition and that only a formal process remained.

“Azimio was dead when ODM left it. We left it a long time ago. It is only a formality which we have not performed and which we are going to perform very soon,” he said.

The registrar’s intervention throws the future of the opposition coalition into uncertainty. It exposes deep divisions among its constituent parties and sets the stage for a possible legal and political battle over control of the outfit.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s attempt to restructure Azimio has been halted by the Registrar of Political Parties following objections from ODM. The registrar suspended the changes pending resolution of complaints that due process and the coalition’s Deed of Agreement were ignored. ODM and other affiliates insist that leadership changes require consensus among constituent parties. The standoff exposes deep divisions within Azimio and raises questions about the coalition’s cohesion and future stability.