Kalonzo hits out at government as opposition excluded at Raila’s state funeral
Kalonzo hits out at government as opposition excluded at Raila’s state funeral
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has criticised the government for sidelining the United Opposition during the state funeral of former prime minister Raila Odinga.
Speaking on Friday, October 17, Kalonzo, one of the principals in the United Opposition, claimed that by virtue of the event being a State Funeral, the government ought to have recognised the opposition leaders.
As per Kalonzo, granting the United Opposition a chance to address the crowd was something that Raila would have wanted in his spirit as an advocate of democracy.
He dismissed a perceived attempt by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki to acknowledge the United Opposition leaders, noting that it did not even resonate with the crowd.
“It is unfortunate, because it is a State Funeral. They should have actually recognised the United Opposition to say something,” Kalonzo stated.
“That is what Raila Odinga would have wished to happen. But you can see the way (DP) Kindiki tried to announce some of us, nobody could hear,” he added.
The former vice president is best remembered for being Raila Odinga’s running mate in the 2013 and 2017 general elections. They lost to former president Uhuru Kenyatta both times.
At the 2022 General Election, Kalonzo was one of the co-principals in the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition, with Raila the flagbearer.
Kalonzo was speaking after he cancelled his planned 10-day trip to the United Kingdom to return for the funeral of the late Prime Minister.
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In a statement on October 16, from his secretariat, Zein Abubakar, Kalonzo departed from Heathrow International Airport in London for Nairobi on Thursday evening.
Kalonzo arrived in Kenya on Friday morning ahead of the state funeral. He even received Tanzanian dignitaries, including former president Jakaya Kikwete and vice president Philip Mpango, at the airport.
He then joined mourners at the Nyayo National Stadium at around 9:30 am.
At the State Funeral, Kalonzo was joined by Fred Matiang’i, Martha Karua, Eugene Wamalwa, Justin Muturi, and Mukhisa Kituyi, his fellow leaders at the United Opposition. Other Wiper-allied leaders were also present.
However, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was conspicuously missing from the event, prompting questions about his whereabouts.
Even so, Kalonzo maintained that the United Opposition would remain unbowed in the quest to defeat President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election.
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