Raila Odinga, Azimio’s leader, announced changes to the coalition’s leadership in the Senate on Wednesday, February 15, after a roundtable with Azimio senators.
Odinga indicated that the leadership changes were intended to better equip the opposition to communicate concerns impacting the country. “We want them to continue to express problems that are now hurting our people,” he added. “We also discussed the current issues that our nation is experiencing.”
Stewart Madzayo was designated Minority Leader and will be deputized by Senator Enoch Wambua as part of the reforms. Senator Ledama Ole Kina of Narok was named Chief Whip and will be deputized by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
Odinga said that the Azimio leadership will guarantee that the nation maintains the multi-party system that was fought for during colonial times.
During the press conference, Raila slammed President William Ruto for declaring a national prayer day on Tuesday, February 14, claiming that prayers would not absolve him of his alleged crimes.
“Prayer will not enable you get away with electoral fraud,” Odinga warned. “People worked for a long time to restore multi-partyism to the nation, and we will not give it up and return to the dark days of single-party tyranny, when elections were essentially controlled.”
Raila has instructed Members of Parliament to safeguard electoral fairness in the nation by securing the formation of an accountable and transparent commission via a fair procedure.
“If they wanted the minority to lead Kenyans, that’s OK, but Kenyans must make that choice for themselves,” he added. “Do we want to sweep these issues under the rug? Someone received 5 million votes, while another received 8 million. That is the truth. We must defend electoral fairness in our nation, as we have informed our Members of Parliament in order to protect our rights. This is not going away.”
In addition, the ODM party’s head announced plans to organize national prayers for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). Raila indicated that the prayers will be conducted in the next week outside IEBC’s main headquarters at Anniversary Towers, which are located along the University Way.
“The problem of electoral fairness that we’re discussing is not going to die unless it’s properly handled,” he remarked. “The elections were rigged, and it makes no difference how many times Mr. Ruto yells or prays.”
