Why we left Raila Odinga Aden Duale

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has given reasons for members of the United Republican Party (URP) to sever links with Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) after the 2007 elections.

Speaking on behalf of URP party leader and Deputy President William Ruto at the party’s national delegates’ conference at Safaricom Indoor Arena on Thursday, Duale said that their once rosy relationship with Raila Odinga’s ODM during the pentagon era was thrown into disarray when they formed the grand coalition government with Raila apparently neglecting their agenda.

“When we formed the grand coalition after the disputed 2007 election, we felt that our vision had been ignored. We therefore decided to leave and form URP,” he stated.

He however noted that URP was fortunate enough to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta’s TNA in the run up to the 2017 elections, a coalition that saw them form the government.

Duale noted that even during the ICC cases that faced the deputy president, who is also URP party leader, President Kenyatta stood by him showing the strong bond that the two have developed.

He called on URP delegates to support the merger that URP is entering with other parties this weekend saying it is meant to foster unity in the country.

“URP is not dissolving, what we are doing is merging with other like-minded parties to form one party, Jubilee,” Duale told the delegates.

“Even in the merger we will not relent on standing for what we believe in as URP which is unity and family values, including our strong opposition to gayism and lesbianism, in accordance with the Bible and Quran.”

Duale called on the opposition coalition CORD to follow suite and form one party that would unite the country ahead of the next polls.

He further noted that URP’s vision would only be realized after Deputy President William Ruto has ascended to power in the 2022 elections, calling on the delegates to support Uhuru Kenyatta’s candidacy in the 2017 presidential elections.

The conference ended with the party adopting a proposal to merge with other parties and form Jubilee, joining other parties that are on adopting the similar proposals on Thursday.