Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has reaffirmed the opposition's commitment to robustly fulfill its role in holding the government accountable.
While speaking on TV47 on Saturday, he issued a challenge to President William Ruto, urging him not to undermine the opposition's effectiveness in overseeing the government's actions.
As part of the Azimio - One Kenya coalition, Kalonzo emphasized their collective decision to allow the Kenya Kwanza government to lead the nation while they assert their influence as a strong opposition.
Kalonzo additionally called upon the government to uphold the independence of both the Judiciary and Parliament. He highlighted the crucial role of Parliament in crafting legislation, emphasizing that these laws should then be faithfully implemented by the executive.
“They say they have their mandate and we are not challenging that mandate anymore, we said you now go ahead and lead, we will play our role as a very strong opposition,” Kalonzo said.
“President William Ruto has been very clear on this, he wants a strong opposition but let him demonstrate that he means it because there are leaders who say one thing and they mean the opposite because if you want a strong opposition you cannot by the same breadth go and weaken the same opposition,” Kalonzo added.
He expressed concern over the migration of some companies from the country to the region, attributing it to the unfavorable business environment in the country.
This is exemplified by the recent poor performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
This, Kalonzo said, is having an impact on job creation which the ‘hustler’ government promised in their campaign manifesto.
“These people came to leadership positions telling Kenyans they were hustlers, they were going to give hustlers jobs instead of giving them jobs even the little they have they have been taking away from them,” Kalonzo said.
Kalonzo further called on Kenyans not to be afraid of a referendum saying it seeks to address issues affecting the lives of all.
Last month, Azimio leader Raila Odinga said the creation of the Office of Leader of the Opposition and embedment of the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary must be decided by the people.
Raila insisted that the people of Kenya must have their say regarding the establishment of two offices by way of a referendum.
“Besides it is a constitutional requirement that such significant restructuring of government must go through a referendum to avoid the mischief that may be played by some people going to court,” he added.
He further added that Kenyans must agree on whether they want a parliamentary, presidential system or a hybrid system of governance.