Kioni Explains Altercation with EALA MP Hassan Omar During Talks

Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni almost came to blows with EALA MP Hassan Omar on Thursday during the Bipartisan Talks meeting at the Bomas of Kenya.

Speaking to Spice FM on Friday, the former Ndaragwa MP said Omar criticized him over his stance on the cost of living.

Kioni has insisted that talks must be centered on lowering the cost of living.

“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 posed.

“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.”

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The former legislator noted that there are issues that will require a referendum.

“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,” he said.

He also revealed that during the meeting, issues discussed did not touch on matters affecting common 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 added.