Chaos at Azimio meeting in Nairobi as goons disrupt Kalonzo's speech

A planned Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party post-Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting address in Nairobi turned chaotic on Wednesday when hired thugs stormed the venue, disrupting Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka's speech and forcefully ejecting attendees from the premises.

Azimio members, including co-principal Raila Odinga, had convened for the meeting at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation grounds.

Following the meeting's conclusion, Kalonzo was seemingly designated with announcing resolutions passed during the gathering.

He attempted to do so in the absence of Mr. Odinga, who reportedly had to leave early for an "urgent" meeting, according to the Wiper boss.

Just moments into Kalonzo's address, the hired guns stormed the venue, rudely interrupting the Wiper boss and his entourage with chants of “meeting imeisha; kila mtu atoke nje.”

The goons subsequently turned their attentions to journalists covering the briefing, forcefully bundling them out of the venue.

Azimio consequently suspended the address but later issued a statement highlighting resolutions from the PG meeting, key among them that the coalition would not be part of the proposed broad-based government mooted by President William Ruto in the aftermath of the nationwide demos.

"For the avoidance of doubt the Azimio-OKA coalition will not be part of the proposed broad based or any other government with the Kenya Kwanza coalition," said Azimio in the statement.

"The meeting considered the need for a people driven National Constitutional Convention as a possible pathway towards the resolution of the national crisis subject to the consensus and concurrence of other stakeholders."

Further, Azimio demanded the immediate apprehension of rogue police officers implicated in the maiming, deaths and kidnappings of peaceful Kenyan protesters since the start of the Finance Bill demos on June 18, 2024.

"Azimio makes the following demands to be implemented forthwith; Immediate interdiction of the top police officers who presided over the atrocities. All the abducted Kenyans be unconditionally released and abductions to forthwith stop," said Azimio.

"We demand the compensation from the government of all those who were killed by rogue officers in the protests last year and in the ongoing protests. We demand that the government pays all the hospital bills for victims of the police shootings."