JEREMIAH KIONI and HASSAN OMAR almost exchange blows at the Bomas of Kenya as they differ over the ongoing bipartisan talks

Friday, September 22, 2023 – Former Ndaragwa Member of Parliament Jeremiah Kioni and East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament Hassan Omar on Thursday almost exchanged blows at the Bomas of Kenya after they differed on principles on the ongoing talks between the opposition and the government.

Kenya Kwanza and Azimio held the near-two-hour as the two factions continued seeking avenues to address the lingering effects of the 2022 post-election crisis. Kioni is said to have stormed out of the meeting following the altercation.

Speaking in an interview on Friday, Kioni noted that he chided Omar for his unwavering stance that the primary focus of the talks should be centred around alleviating the high cost of living for Kenyans.

“The cost of kerosene has gone up by Ksh.33. We were supposed to lower the cost of living in Kenya; how is it that we are talking of borrowing Ksh.890 billion between April and June and the high levels of taxation?” Kioni told Spice FM.

“We have not resolved the issue of the Finance Bill; I said that I wouldn’t want to sit in a situation where I feel like we are conning Kenyans. There are those who thought that shouldn’t have been said but I am still saying it. What took us to Bomas and why people were killed was the cost of living. That’s why people were demonstrating.”

He went on to say that both the ruling government and the opposition have a huge obligation to deal with the cost of living further adding that any developments introduced by the State will not resonate with ‘hungry’ Kenyans.

“Even when we were sitting there we were not talking about the brutality of the police force, the medical bills of those who were injured and compensation for people killed. Those are issues that should worry anyone of us,” he said.

“If you want to amend the constitution, procedures of doing so are provided in the constitution.

“You cannot come up with another ‘kichinjio’ way and we will be there to say there is a constitutional way of amending our constitution and there are issues you cannot touch until you go to Kenyans via referendum.”