ODM Clarifies Report Of Quitting Azimio La Umoja Over Distrust, Betrayal

• ODM has denounced reports it could be on its way out of the larger Azimio La Umoja Coalition Party
• A communique purported to emanate from the outfit's headquarters suggested it wanted out of the coalition due to distrust and betrayal
• The ODM party flagged the communique as a fake; ODM and Jubilee are the pioneering parties of the coalition

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi - A communique purported to emanate from the Orange House in Capitol Hill had implied that the Raila Odinga-led ODM party was planning to ditch the larger Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party.

The said statement, with ODM's letterhead, logo, and signature of Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, listed distrust and betrayal as the reasons behind the resolve to quit the coalition.

Is ODM quitting Azimio?

It was addressed to the Registrar of Political Parties, Ann Nderitu.

The outfit was embarking on the process to alienate itself from Azimio with whose ticket Raila and his running mate Martha Karua flunked the 2022 presidential election.

"Take notice that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party meeting on December 13, 2023, resolved to withdraw from the Deed Agreement for Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition following instances of distrust, betrayal and competing ambitions from fellow Coalition members," it parly read.

However, coming out to clean the air, ODM flagged the statement as a fake.

It published the statement rubber-stamped fake, seeking to alleviate the anxiety the coalition's supporters might develop over the state of the opposition coalition.

The Making of Azimio La Umoja

Azimio La Umoja, formed in March 2022, had initially brought together 16 political parties which had resolved to back Raila's fifth presidential bid.

Its ranking principals are Raila, Martha Karua, Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa.

The pioneer outfits in the party were ODM and Jubilee under former president Uhuru Kenyatta.

The parties individually signed their declarations committing to partner under the Azimio movement ahead of last year's elections.

Thereafter, the secretary-general and chair of each party would form their respective plenaries that would work on the finer details of the coalition agreement.

Conception of Azimio

The coalition was originally conceptualised by Raila, whose party had been partnering with the ruling Jubilee party since 2018.

In August 2021, the Jubilee Party's National Management Committee (NMC) approved a pre-election deal ODM.

The Uhuru-led party gave the secretariat the greenlight to formally engage ODM months after its former secretary-general Raphael Tuju revealed that Jubilee and the opposition party were in talks.

The two parties later resolved to welcome other like-minded partners.

The latecomers included KANU, Wiper party, NARC Kenya, NARC, Ubuntu People's Forum and Muungano Party.

Others were Pamoja African Alliance, UPIA, DAP-K, Usawa Kwa Wote, UPA, Dep MBUS Power, KUP and Maendeleo Chap Chap.