A section of Azimio la Umoja MPs who have vowed to work with the government are wrong because that is one way of weakening the opposition.
The move means that, the Kenya Kwanza government will work without strong opposition, leading to the failure of the government to fulfill the promises they made to the people and denying citizens their rights and democracy.
On February 7, President William Ruto held a consultative meeting at State House with nine Nyanza leaders led among them Lang'ata MP Phelix Odiwuor alias Jalang'o, Gideon Ochanda (Bondo), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Mark Nyamita (Uriri), Caroli Omondi (Suba South), Shakeel Shabir (Kisumu East, Independent), Paul Abuor (Rongo), John Owino (Awendo) and Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda..
On February 8, some Jubilee party MPs visited President Ruto at State House. They included Eldas MP Adan Keynan, John Waluke (Sirisia), Mark Mwenje (Embakasi West), Sabina Chege (nominated), Stanley Muthama (Lamu West) and Yusuf Hassan (Kamukunji). Following the meeting, they committed to working with the Kenya Kwanza government.
On Monday, February 13, another group of seven former MPs from the Jubilee Party also announced they will back President Ruto, further weakening the opposition, as Jubilee is part of the Azimio coalition.
Kenya being a democratic country, opposition leaders should work tirelessly to protect the interests of the citizens, mainly working as the watchdogs. They should be the ones providing oversight and scrutiny by closely examining the work of the government of the day and asking its officials to explain its actions, debating bills and proposed laws in the Parliament and working in committees that oversight the government and also provide alternatives to government policies.
In my view, opposition leaders should remain firm and strong to make sure that the government fulfills all of the promises they made to the people and also making sure that the cost of living of the people goes down. Currently, the cost of living is so high, Kenyans are paying too many and high taxes and even some parents cannot afford school fees to take their children to school. The country is also struggling with insecurity, hunger and many other challenges.
It is the role of the opposition leaders lead by Raila Odinga to fight for the rights of citizens, not politicking yet the time for politics is over.
Therefore, Azimio leaders should stop joining government because a government without opposition cannot guarantee democracy. And without democracy, Kenyans will suffer, while those in government live at the expense of the suffering majority. It's high time all Azimio leaders work hand in hand to make sure the government does the right thing.
Constantine Sifuna is a media practitioner, Rongo University