Raila tight-lipped as ODM send mixed signals over nomination of 4 party bigwigs to cabinet by president Ruto

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is sending mixed signals even as its party leader Raila Odinga remains mum over the actual party position regarding nomination of top party bigwigs to the cabinet by president William Ruto yesterday.

This comes even as major backlash is simmering within the Azimio One Kenya Coalition to over the controversial Raila-Ruto deal that has seen ODM co-opted into government amid resistance by other Azimio affiliate parties led by Wiper, Narc and Jubilee parties among others.

While appearing on Citizen TV show today morning, ODM Secretary General, Edwin Sifuna maintained that the party has not joined the Kenya Kwanza government despite president Ruto nominating four key members to join the cabinet.

The Nairobi Senator also said the four accepted the nomination without the party’s blessings.

They ODM’s John Mbadi who was nominated to Cabinet Secretary National Treasury; Opiyo Wandayi to Energy and Petroleum; Ali Hassan Joho to Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs; and Wycliffe Oparanya to the Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development.

Wandanyi is the serving Ugunja Member of Parliament (MP) and the Minority Leader in the National Assembly.

Sifuna called for the resignation of the four ODM party officials, chairman John Mbadi (nominated MP), deputy party leaders Hassan Joho (former Mombasa Governor) and Wycliffe Oparanya (former Kakamega Governor), and National Assembly minority leader Opiyo Wandayi (Ugenya MP).

The letters should be submitted to the party before the quartet heads for vetting at the National Assembly next week.

He further insisted that, as the Secretary General, he was aware that the four were negotiating with the Head of State, but it was not official and within the party structures.

“Did we know that people were negotiating with Ruto? Yes, we knew. Was it something being done officially through the party structures? No. Did we endorse the decision by these four individuals to join the government? No. It is not a decision of ODM.” He said.

“I expect that before they go for vetting, I will receive resignations from their positions in the party. That is my expectation because the law says that they cannot go into cabinet as parties or members of

Senator Sifuna further asserted that no decision had been made by any ODM organ regarding joining President William Ruto’s government. He emphasised that Kenyans deserve to know the truth.

“As secretary-general, I sit in all organs of the party and I am the spokesperson of all those organs. There has been a lot of speculation about what happened yesterday (Wednesday). The truth of the matter is that there is no decision of any organ of ODM that I sit in to join the Ruto government.” He said.

Senator Sifuna further accused the media of misrepresenting the Raila Odinga-led party’s position on the matter. He pointed out that the misrepresentation started when the former Prime Minister, on July 9, 2024, accompanied President Ruto and other leaders to sign the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Bill into law.

“I’m not happy with the way the media has chosen to report the matters that have happened in the past few weeks. I think there has been a deliberate effort to misrepresent the position of the party, especially in the print media.” Sifuna noted

The legislator added that the ODM party only called for a national conversation, but that has been turned to mean a dialogue between ODM and the ruling party, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

On Sunday, the ODM party announced that it was not negotiating for any coalition agreement or lobbying for appointments with Ruto’s government. This was despite reports that President Ruto had offered opposition leader Raila five cabinet slots.

The decision, however, by Raila and his ODM brigade to work with Ruto comes as a blow to Azimio la Umoja Coalition.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua, DAP-K Eugene Wamalwa and Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni have openly stated that they will not work with Ruto.

Remarks by Jubilees Kioni also indicate that Raila and former President Uhuru Kenyatta don’t read on the same page.

Kalonzo’s bid to publicly announce that the Azimio leadership had resolved to reject Ruto’s strategy to form a government of national unity by co-opting the opposition flopped on Wednesday last week after goons disrupted the press conference.