Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his allies Martha Karua, Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa gave Wednesday’s National Prayer Breakfast at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi a wide berth.
This is a day after the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition party leaders announced they would not attend the event and dismissed it as a “dishonour” to God.
“If past events where we have shared platforms with Kenya Kwanza are to serve as a guide, Azimio is convinced that the National Prayer Breakfast does not offer the environment the country needs,” the coalition said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Instead, the event will dishonour God and country with a display of arrogance, superiority battles, false hopes to citizens and vitriolic post-event mischaracterization and misinterpretation of intentions by well-known Kenya Kwanza leaders. We have therefore declined the invitation to the breakfast.”
Azimio however gave members of parliament the liberty to choose whether or not to attend the prayers.
Themed around reconciliation, Wednesday’s Prayer Breakfast led by President William Ruto saw the attendance of First Lady Rachael Ruto, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Second Lady Dorcas Rigathi, and other government officials.
Among the Azimio legislators in attendance is Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris, who told journalists she wished Odinga would attend but respects his decision not to, which she attributed to perceived disrespect by the Kenya Kwanza government.
“It’s really sad that my party leader Raila Odinga will not be attending, I hoped that he would have a change of heart and attend. I know Odinga as the type of person always on the path of reconciliation no matter how much wrong they do to him, he always gets to the table to reconcile for the good of the country,” Passaris said.
“I don’t want to be in that space where I would be overly disrespected as a leader and elder. I’d rather not go there and tarnish what is meant to be a prayerful day,” she added.
The ceremony also comes at a time Kenyans are grappling with a high cost of living and debate on taxation in the wake of the Finance Bill, 2023 through which President Ruto’s government seeks to raise more revenue by increasing taxation.
The bill proposes a 16 per cent Value Added Tax on fuel and a housing fund, among other levies, as the Kenya Kwanza government seeks to raise more money from Kenyans.
But while the Azimio coalition has signalled to resume anti-government protests if the controversial bill is not reviewed, the government remains bullish, with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua asserting that the bill will pass in parliament as it is.
President Ruto himself is on record saying, “We need to pass this bill so Kenya can develop. There are some suggestions that MPs should disclose how they voted when the bill is tabled in parliament, but personally, I am waiting to see any MP who will shut down that bill.”
The 2023/2024 budget is set to be tabled before Parliament on June 15.
