By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
The opposition coalition – Azimio, has called for the resignation of public servants recently appointed to hold various positions within the UDA party.
On Tuesday, President William Ruto chaired the ruling party’s meeting that later announced that KRA board chairperson Eng Anthony Mwaura had been retained as the national elections board chairperson.
Eng Mwaura held the position before the 2022 general election but was appointed to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) board after Kenya Kwanza won the election
Also named as an official of the UDA disputes resolution committee is Kenya Power director Joy-Brenda Masinde.
The latest development has not gone down well with Azimio.
In a statement on Wednesday, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said it was an attempt to take the country back to the 1980s “where party officials and public officers were one and the same thing.”
According to the Nairobi Senator, the state officers handed the party roles must resign.
He noted that allowing the officials to serve the party while also being public servants is a recipe for chaos and dictatorship.
“We take a position that these developments is wrong, a recipe for chaos and dictatorship and partisanship in management of public affairs,” Sifuna said in a media briefing.
“We are staring at a return of party state system last seen in 1980 where party officials and public officials were one and the same thing,” he added.
The ODM party further insisted that the public servants named in the leadership of UDA must choose to serve one master – either the government or the party.
“We demand that all those people named as UDA party officials must resign. There is no way they will serve two masters – the public and UDA party,” Sifuna said.