By THEDISPATCH.DIGITAL REPORTER
ODM leader Raila Odinga has denied endorsing or forwarding the names of party members to President William Ruto for cabinet appointments. Several MPs from the party also distanced themselves from the nominations, claiming Raila was unaware of them.
In a press release on Thursday afternoon, Raila stated that ODM had not formed any alliance with Ruto, nor had any agreements been signed. However, analysts suggested that Raila was engaging in damage control after accusations of benefiting from the protests by Gen Z that led President Ruto to disband his cabinet and reject the Finance Bill 2024. They also noted that Raila unusually wished well to his “rebel” party members, including senior officials like the party chairman and his two deputies, who were nominated. One nominee, Opiyo Wandayi, even visited Raila’s home in Karen to thank his wife, Ida Odinga, for the nomination.
“Raila is trying to have his cake and eat it,” remarked Manoah Odhiambo, a Nairobi businessman. “We know that he was trying to get back at the Kikuyu for rejecting him and voting for Ruto. Now they have to eat their tomatoes as he joins the government.”
As Raila fended off betrayal claims, a faction of ODM MPs insisted he was unaware of the cabinet nominations of senior party officials. The MPs held a press conference to address the situation and express their discontent.
“We have met here this morning as elected MPs in good standing of the ODM to set the record straight with regard to recent happenings within the party,” stated Saboti MP Caleb Amisi.
The statement claimed that Raila was out of the country for a private meeting when his allies abandoned the cause to join the government. The MPs emphasized their attendance at the ODM and Azimio parliamentary group meeting on July 12 in Nairobi, where no decision was made to join a coalition with President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza (KK) party.
“It therefore came as a shock when senior members of ODM showed up on a list of cabinet nominees announced by Ruto,” the MPs stated.
They expressed their dismay, noting that joining a government “indicted by the Kenyan people” tarnishes a party that has always championed the people’s cause. The dissenting MPs reiterated their commitment to addressing Kenya’s longstanding governance issues.
“We have all along maintained support for the ongoing struggle to address the longstanding governance issues bedeviling Kenya and are appalled to be announcing that we are joining forces with the people responsible for these issues,” they declared.
A major point of contention was the perceived lack of diversity in the appointments.
“To make it worse, the appointments do not reflect the diversity of the party as clearly there were no gender, age, or regional considerations,” the MPs criticized.
The MPs clarified the official stance of the ODM.
“We wish to reiterate that the position of the party, as communicated by the SG earlier, is that indeed the decision by our four comrades was personal and not as a result of any decision passed by the party,” they affirmed.
The faction called on the party leadership to act swiftly and replace the members who accepted cabinet positions.