Jubilee Party continues to be part of the Azimio Coalition, driven by ideology rather than personal grievances, Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has affirmed.
Speaking in an interview with Radio Generation, Kioni emphasized that the party’s position in opposition is a principled stand rooted in its political beliefs.
“One of it is, of course, to be a little clearer in our minds that we are still in Azimio. We Jubilee, are still in Azimio. And we are in Azimio because we went for the 2022 elections, and we lost our votes to somebody else,” Kioni said in Wednesday.
He recalled that after the 2022 elections, Jubilee challenged the legitimacy of President William Ruto’s government, going around the country to assert their position.
Kioni highlighted that some leaders, including Baba and Kalonzo, eventually left or joined other political formations.
“Shortly thereafter, Baba (Raila), a few people wrote letters saying they have left us… Kalonzo is heavily involved in the United Opposition. We are also in the United opposition. But it’s important to mention that our being in opposition as the Jubilee party is ideological. It is not because we are angry,” he explained.
The former Ndaragwa MP contrasted this with politicians who join opposition out of frustration or personal grievances.
The Jubilee Secretary General stressed that the party’s opposition stance is rooted in policy disagreements, particularly on government subsidies.
“Before we were talking of subsidies, we were told it is subsidies are done by people who have never been to school. So we allowed the guys who have knowledge in plant and lizards and such worms to come and do their thing. And we went harder. So our being in opposition is ideological. And I can tell you, we in Jubilee are squarely, firmly in opposition,” Kioni stated.
He also addressed criticism from fellow opposition members, accusing Jubilee of not fully embracing opposition politics. Kioni cited examples of allegations against former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and others.
“One of the things that is unkind of our colleagues in opposition is when you think the other one is more popular than you in the opposition, you assign him a name or a character. I know Gachagua when he was in the US. One of the press conferences he did was to say that I am working for the NIS. The other day I saw Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru also say that they don’t recognize Fred Matiang’i. It’s unfortunate that the guys in the opposition have been very preoccupied in trying to paint us in Jubilee as those who are not in opposition,” he added.
Kioni stressed that Jubilee’s participation in opposition politics is consistent and unwavering, grounded in principles rather than personal or emotional reasons.
Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party is a fully registered coalition, comprising 26 political parties, according to its coalition agreement evaluated by the Registrar of Political Parties.
The Registrar issued a certificate of full registration on April 21, 2022, following an assessment that found the coalition compliant with the Political Parties Act, 2011 and related regulations.
Currently, the Azimio Coalition has 21 political parties, making it the largest coalition in terms of party representation, compared to Kenya Kwanza, which has 15 parties.
This was based from the Registrar of Political Parties on February 26, despite five parties applying to leave the alliance.
The coalition’s parties and their number of Members of Parliament are: Orange Democratic Movement (89), Jubilee Party (30), Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya (26), Kenya African National Union (5), Democratic Action Party-Kenya (5), Kenya Union Party (3), United Party of Independent Alliance (2), United Progressive Alliance (1), United Democratic Party (1), Movement for Democracy and Growth (1), National Agenda Party of Kenya (1). Other members include Chama Cha Uzalendo, the Party for Peace and Democracy, the National Liberal Party, and the People’s Trust Party, which currently have no MPs.
The five parties that have applied to leave Azimio include the People’s Liberation Party (December 6, 2024), Maendeleo Chap Chap Party (January 25, 2024), United Democratic Movement (November 22, 2023), Devolution Empowerment Party (April 11, 2023), and Pamoja African Alliance (February 27, 2023
