Kioni to Raila: Move over, Gen-Zs are the new opposition

By Peter Ochieng

Jubilee Party Secretary General (SG) Jeremiah Kioni believes Azimio La Umoja One Kenya leader, Raila Odinga’s time as the country’s undisputed opposition chief is over.

Odinga is widely regarded for leading a vibrant opposition over the years, resulting in various institutional reforms in the country, among them achievement of the 2010 constitution.

Speaking during an interview on Radio Maisha on Tuesday, Kioni said Odinga lost his role as opposition chief when he ‘donated’ some members of his ODM party to serve as Cabinet Secretaries, under President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza regime.

He said the Generation Zoomers (Gen-Zs) who staged weeks of anti-government protests that led to withdrawal of the Finance Bill, 2024 and dissolution of Ruto’s first cabinet are now the new opposition.

“Gen-Zs are the new opposition. They breached Parliament and proved that they are brave enough to enter the State House if they decide,” Kioni said.

“They are the new opposition. It is not us or those in Parliament,” added the former Ndaragua Member of Parliament (MP).

In June, protesters breached Parliament forcing MPs to scamper for safety, in a historic move never witnessed in the country.

Kioni seemingly suggested that Odinga, at the height of his powers as the country’s leader of opposition, failed to organise demonstrations to the magnitude reached by the youthful protesters.

“The opposition belongs to Gen-Zs. Even Raila was told to sit back and watch this space,” added Kioni. He said Azimio is now charting a way forward minus Odinga, after the former Prime Minister ‘decided to assist Ruto to remain in power.’

“You will never hear us talk about him (Raila),” he stated.

Ahead of the 2027 polls, the ex-legislature added that the presidential race is shaping into a Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka versus President Ruto affair.

“It is either Ruto or Kalonzo.”