On Tuesday, November 29, opposition leaders Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Martha Karua attended an Azimio parliamentary group meeting.
The meeting that was held at the Kalonzo Musyoka Centre resolved to hold parallel Jamhuri Day celebrations in what insiders said was a way of keeping the Kenya Kwanza government in check.
“The matter (of a parallel event) was indeed discussed as a follow-up to the December 7 event, but the leaders agreed to examine it and make a decision,” a source at the meeting said.
However, Wiper Party has distanced itself from Raila’s plan to hold a parallel Jamhuri Day celebration scheduled for Monday, December 12.
Wiper Part chairman Chirau Ali Makwere on Wednesday, November 30, said by holding a parallel national event, Raila was soiling his reputation as a champion for democracy.
While reaffirming that the Wiper Party will not be part of the plan, Makwere said proceeding with the plan would interrupt the peace of the nation even after having a peaceful General Election.
He said holding a parallel Jamhuri Day will not change the fact that William Ruto is the president and that it could culminate in the swearing-in of Raila as the people’s president.
“What will he do next? swear himself in as the people’s president? He will take us back to lawlessness because we gain nothing by creating unnecessary tension in the country,
“(William) Ruto is the president now and you cannot reverse that by holding a parallel rally,” Chirau Makwere said.
Kivumbi.co.ke understands that this will not be the first time the former vice president will be snubbing opposition events.
During Raila’s swearing-in as the people’s president in January 2018, Kalonzo Musyoka snubbed the event and was even nicknamed ‘watermelon’.
