A faction of Orange Democratic Movement Members of Parliament has claimed that party leader Raila Odinga was unaware of recent cabinet nominations of senior ODM members.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The MPs held a press conference to address the situation and express their discontent with the developments.
“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,” Saboti Member of Parliament Caleb Amisi said in a statement.
The statement further disclosed that the ODM leader Raila Odinga was out of the country to attend a private meeting only for his footsoldiers to abandon the good fight and join government.
Former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho was flanked by ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna during a past press briefing. Joho was nominated into the Ministry of Mining.
Ali Hassan Joho
The MPs emphasized their presence at both the ODM and the Azimio parliamentary group meeting held on July 12 in Nairobi, asserting that no decision was made during these meetings to join a coalition with President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza (KK) party.
“It therefore came as a shock when senior members of ODM showed up on a list of cabinet appointees announced by Ruto,” the MPs stated.
They expressed their dismay, pointing out that some of their leaders joining a government “indicted by the Kenyan people” reflects poorly on a party that has always championed the people’s cause.
The dissenting MPs reiterated their commitment to addressing the longstanding governance issues plaguing Kenya.
“We have all along maintained support for the ongoing struggle to address the longstanding governance issues bedevilling Kenya and are appalled to be announcing that we are joining forces with the people responsible for these issues,” they declared.
One of the significant points 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 noted, criticizing the nominations for failing to represent the party’s broad demographic.
The MPs also 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 had accepted the cabinet positions…CONTINUE READING>>
