Azimio embarks on public engagement, to hold rally at Kamukunji on Sunday

Azimio's Wycliffe Oparanya

Azimio Executive Council chair and former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya (left) Sirisia MP Peter Salasya during Azimio La Umoja demonstrations on March 27, 2023. The Raila-led coalition has said it will hold its first public engagement on Thursday at a town hall meeting followed by a baraza on Sunday at Kamukunji Grounds.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition has announced its plan to embark on public engagement starting with Nairobi where they will hold a town hall meeting and a public baraza at Kamkunji grounds on Sunday.

The opposition has also appointed Rarieda Member of Parliament Otiende Amolo to lead its seven-member team that will take part in bipartisan negotiations with the Kenya Kwanza government.

Azimio Executive Council chair Wycliffe Oparanya said the coalition will hold a town hall meeting on Thursday, April 13 in Nairobi, its first public engagement since calling off the anti-government protests.

Mr Oparanya said the public engagements will go on across the country even as Azimio and the government negotiate.

“We will hold the first town hall meeting in Nairobi on Thursday, April 13, 2023, to be followed by a people's Baraza at the Kamukunji grounds on Sunday, April 16, 2023,” he said.

According to the ODM deputy party leader, the purpose of the town hall meetings and public barazas is to enable the party to explain to the people the upcoming course of action following the suspension of protests.

He announced that the Azimio remains committed to the spirit of the Easter deal that saw the two parties commit to dialogue, calling on the Kenya Kwanza side of President William Ruto to come to the table with “clean hands, unclenched fists, and a commitment to an honest and transparent process.”

Azimio has reiterated that the talks should engage on all the issues facing the country, including the high cost of living, safeguarding multipartyism, safeguarding civil service from politics, and electoral injustices that they claim have been swept under the carpet for decades.

Also, Azimio insisted that the four issues that were earlier communicated to the public by Azimio leader Raila Odinga will be addressed.

The four issues included the high cost of living, opening, and auditing of the IEBC servers, protection of the letter and spirit of fidelity to multiparty democracy, and adherence to the principle of inclusivity in the appointment of civil servants.

Azimio had suspended its nationwide protests at the beginning of this month following calls Dr Ruto that they engage each other in a parliament-led negation.