Senator Onyonka: Politics has become too toxic for bipartisan talks to bear fruit

Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka says there is a lot of toxicity in the local political scene that will kill bipartisan talks between leaders from the ruling Kenya Kwanza alliance and the opposition Azimio coalition.

Two months since the talks commenced following the suspension of anti-government protests by opposition leader Raila Odinga, there has not been much progress as both sides accuse each other of sabotage.

The talks have been suspended several times over contentious issues, among them the formation of a new electoral commission that will manage the 2027 elections.

Senator Onyonka on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with the progress of the talks, saying he does not hope they are going to generate anything serious.

“I am a pessimist now; I was a little optimistic when the discussion started in terms of the gaps that we could fill in terms of a referendum. But given the political environment we have right now which is so toxic; I don’t see much happening out of it,” he told Citizen TV on the Day Break program.

Asked what he meant by toxicity, the senator said Azimio and Kenya Kwanza legislators have become hostile to each other.

“I begin to see our country degenerating into a hostile environment where two diverse and extreme groups feel that the democracy we have is about the winner taking it all,” said Onyonka.

“As the opposition we are finding it difficult to see what is going on; today you talk about the Judiciary making a ruling that you are happy about and then tomorrow when they make a ruling on a matter that you hate, you start talking about them,” he added.

The senator alleges being met with hostility even by members of his party, the Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party for interacting with Kenya Kwanza-allied leaders.

“I was in Kisii at a hotel owned by my family and UDA members were there and I said hello even if this is my area, you are welcome but I am still in the opposition. They were very courteous and friendly but my ODM people wanted to lynch me because of crossing over and allegedly asking for handouts,” he said.

Late May, the bipartisan talks were suspended over allegations that Kenya Kwanza was meddling in Jubilee party affairs.

Jubilee is part of the Azimio coalition and has been accusing President William Ruto of raiding it and taking away members who were not elected in Kenya Kwanza.

This culminated in the party leadership wrangles pitting Jeremiah Kioni on one hand and Kanini Kega on the other, with both claiming control of the party.

On Monday, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal confirmed Kega as party secretary general while upholding the decision by the party's National Executive Committee to suspend Kioni, David Murathe, and Kagwe Gichohi.

The tribunal also affirmed the decisions that had been taken by the Kega faction to institute disciplinary action against errant party members and nullified the decisions of the meeting convened by the Kioni faction and attended by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The tribunal’s decision is the latest in the long-running battle for the control of the Jubilee Party that pits the former president's faction and the nominated EALA MPs.