Former President Uhuru Kenyatta is poised to relinquish his position as chairman of the Azimio One Kenya Coalition council, Jubilee party vice chairman David Murathe said during an interview with one of the local media house.
Murathe revealed that the Azimio council will soon convene a meeting and ratify his exit which is set to provide the former statesman with an opportunity to fully focus on the peace initiative he is spearheading in the East African region specifically in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“As a coalition, we intend to have a meeting very soon where Uhuru Kenyatta will formally resign as the chairman of the Azimio council. Obviously, you cannot have two drivers steering a bus. This vehicle called Azimio now has one driver and that driver is Jakom (Odinga),” observed Murathe.
Uhuru has been traversing various parts of Africa and holding peace talks in an effort to reconcile warring groups in war-ridden countries with sources revealing that the former head of state is no longer involved in the running of the Azimio One Kenya Coalition Party as he focuses on his peace project.
Murathe alludes that Uhuru is now above local politics and intends to leave Opposition leader Raila Odinga the sole mandate in running the Azimio activities as the council plans to have a sitting to decide on who takes up the role.
The move by Uhuru to resign as Azimio chairman is seen a win-win which is informed by the legal requirement that prohibits a fore president from holding any political position so as to be able to access retirement benefits as per the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act, 2003, which allows Uhuru to quit from the political position by February 2023 political, six months after ceasing to hold office as President of the Republic of Kenya.
The move is believed to be a big blow to Raila Odinga’s Azimio camp and Jubilee Party, coming at a time when Uhuru’s Mt Kenya troops seem to be shifting their allegiance to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as anonymous sources reveal that the government has formally written to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to inquire whether Uhuru Kenyatta is still the Azimio One Kenya coalition chairman.
On Thursday, the Azimio One Kenya coalition Youth League Chairman, Solomon Kuria citing and alleging erosion of the coalition’s ideals a day after he skipped the crucial Kamukunji consultative meeting led by Azimio Coalition Party Leader Raila Odinga.