Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi has termed as a “return to the dark days” where he critised the formation of a unity government, saying the opposition should instead remain vibrant to check on government excesses.
While speaking to press at the party’s youth centre at its headquarters in Lavington he said, “Opposition is important. Those who think that if you are in the opposition you are not patriotic are ignorant. In fact, you are unpatriotic if you try and kill the opposition. As it is, we can support an idea, but you do not have to troop to the government to support it.”
Mr Mudavadi, has in the recent past fashioned himself as the voice of the opposition following Mr Raila Odinga’s handshake deal with President Uhuru Kenyatta, said all was well in having an alternative voice.
There has been a lot of concerns on the position of the Kenyan opposition politics following the March 9 deal that saw Mr Odinga pledge his support for President Kenyatta’s agenda, with his 2017 running mate Kalonzo Musyoka following suit last month.
On Wednesday, ANC rejected calls for a national unity government following the handshake.
In addition the ANC Youth leader Omulo Junior, “The country has no need for a grand national unity govenment, and any such arrangement should not be formed to feed the appetites of individuals for power, or to kill democracy.”
ANC, the party said, will be among “the 63 other political parties outside government” in a veiled attack on its counterparts in the National Super Alliance.
Additionally the party said, “Going forward, we will continue to participate actively in keeping the government on its toes. We oppose Cabinet reshuffles that seek to kill democracy. We also oppose any constitutional amendments that only seek to meet the power pursuits of individuals.”
In what Mr Mudavadi refused to discuss further, the party, in its statement, described the Uhuru-Raila handshake as “non-inclusive.”
“It is ironic that while the Building Bridges (handshake) nine-point proposal has inclusivity as one of the points of focus, the process itself is so far not inclusive. It is, therefore, a flawed process from the beginning, and its owners, especially President Kenyatta, must wake up to this glaring contradiction,” the party said.
The party called for the disbandment of the building bridges team, calling it “lame duck”.
On the other hand Wiper party has now resolved to support government’s agenda in Parliament.
The decision was reached during the party’s National Executive Council meeting at the Wiper headquarters.
The Kalonzo Musyoka led party has been a key member of opposition’s NASA coalition.
The others are ODM party led by Raila Odinga and Ford Kenya whose leader is Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula.
“It is now the decision of the NEC/PG of the Wiper to directly work with President Uhuru in his effort to transform Kenya. Our members of parliament should stand guided by this resolution,” part of the party resolution read.
The party said it is satisfied with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s efforts to fight corruption and will henceforth support him in his development agenda.
“We, therefore, laud the valiant efforts by Uhuru Kenyatta and his government to decisively deal with corruption and set the stage for the big four agenda,” the statement read.
Wiper said the move was orchestrated by the handshake between opposition chief Raila Odinga and President Uhuru on March 9.
It said the political situation in the country had stabilized and therefore a total closure of the electoral season.
“We appreciate the wisdom and selfless leadership displayed by our two leaders, the President and Raila Odinga which has seen the country move towards love and unity,” it stated.
Raila’s ODM party has also said it will support Jubilee’s agenda but will not hesitate to criticise the government if it operates against the constitution.
Ford Kenya party has not publicly declared if it will work with Uhuru’s Jubilee party.
In the recent past, its leader Moses Wetangula has insisted that the party is no longer part of the NASA coalition although it has not made a formal withdrawal.
On Thursday, ODM party members came out guns blazing in defence of Raila against attacks by Wetang’ula.
The party claimed that Wetang’ula wanted Raila arrested and charged with treason after his swearing-in as people’s president on January 30, and that he was aware.