'Kenya Kwanza and Azimio are all part of the same past,' Sakaja says

Nairobi County Senator Johnson Sakaja now says that the two major political outfits in the upcoming General Election; Azimio La Umoja and Kenya Kwanza, should focus on the future of the nation rather than their differences.

Sakaja says that the two factions are similar in their origin and should put aside focusing on the historical background of the leaders and rather concentrate on improving the lives of ordinary Kenyans.

While referring to post-independence Kenya during the reign of President Daniel Moi before the formation of multiparty democracy, Sakaja said that the Kenya Kwanza leadership led by Deputy President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga were in the same outfit.

He similarly refers to the last government where President Uhuru and DP Ruto were allies but now the two are in rival camps saying that they should not focus on differences.

“Kenyans want to hear about the future. Kenya Kwanza and Azimio are all part of the same past, tell me the difference between the two…they have been part of the same past,” Sakaja said in an interview with NTV on Tuesday night.

“You can talk about the dark days of Moi; Uhuru Kenyatta was in KANU, Tinga (Raila) was in KANU… even as recent as the last five years, they have both been in the same…William Ruto was the deputy President, still is, Raila was in the Handshake.”

As he hailed the Kenya Kwanza coalition with which he is affiliated, Sakaja reiterated that the political parties in the country should instead refocus on issue-based politics rather than focusing on the historical background of the country and its leaders.

“Our generation wants to start a path into the future and that is where our focus is. You can either choose to look at Kenya in terms of what it has always been or look at Kenya in terms of what it must be, that is a choice we must make. There is no inspirational story from any side,” he said.

"The biggest challenge today is our young people have no jobs, people can not afford food; that is the urgency of this country, not a few people seating at the table saying if the "Big Boys" are happy Kenya will be happy."

He added: “As a leader, you paint the picture of the future, have a vision, and do less of history; that's what we get more from Azimio “That is why even a car, the review mirror is smaller than the windscreen we must look forward as a country."

Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir who was also on the platform however contradicted the senator, emphasizing that history should not be overlooked.

 “You measure someone through their integrity and everything else they have done; when we start talking about erasing the past, we are going to have selective amnesia, ” Nassir said.

He went on to blame the Kenya Kwanza coalition saying that they were being hypocritical in pointing fingers at the ODM party for the troubles they caused while in the Jubilee government.

Consequently, he distanced the Odinga-led ODM party from the current regime saying that it is not part of the government as the Kenya Kwanza alliance has been alleging.

"Kenya Kwanza was part of the problem. You have to start asking, when did the rain start hitting?" He posed.

“ODM has never been part of the government; we stood our ground on issues like the effects of SGR on the economy of Mombasa,” the MP added.