Martha Karua Splits From Azimio Party

Narc Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua has contradicted Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s call to unseat President William Ruto through a newly-launched signature drive instead terming the exercise as a mere “body count”.

Karua, who paired up with Odinga as running mate in the 2022 presidential race which the duo lost to Ruto despite enjoying State backing, made the clarification during a media appearance on Monday.

“Those signatures are a body count of people exercising their will directly. They are not for taking to any institution. It is just a body count of people supporting the cause,” she said during an interview on Spice FM.

Karua added: “The grievances of Azimio are the grievances of Kenyans.”

While launching the signature collection drive during an anti-government protect on Friday, Odinga said Azimio will present its petitioned supported by 10 million Kenyans to a parallel electoral commission to have Ruto removed from office.

Odinga said the petion was in realization of frustrations on new tax measures under the Finance Act 2023 and skyrocketing commodity prices.

He promised to ensure that “power gets back to the people” through constitutional means without specifying legal provisions he intended to ride on.

“Power belongs to the people and that is what the Constitution says,” he told a public rally in Nairobi’s Kamukunji which coincided with the July 7 (Saba Saba) anniversary for agitation of multiparty democracy.

Odinga promised to collect the signatures within a week.

Karua’s remarks on Monday however appeared to reveal an ideological split in Azimio after Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka expressed similar sentiments while urging for restraint.