Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has now come out guns blazing claiming that Opposition leader Raila Odinga is organising and planning to remove him from office.
In a video that has since gone viral, CS Echesa alleges that Raila is unhappy with his appointment to the Cabinet.
“The President appointed me because I am a child of the poor. He knew that by appointing me, I would uplift another poor kid. The President was not stupid to appoint me. He knew the country had professors but I was still appointed," Echesa said.
“Mheshimiwa rais aliniteua kama waziri akijua ya kwamba anateua huyu mtoto wa maskini, wacha nimuinue naye vile vile atainua mtoto wa maskini mwingine. Lakini ni kama kazi aliyonipa rais inakera mtu mwingine pahali pengine.”
The agitated Cabinet Secretary pointed out that the new plot to oust him from office undermines the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and the former Prime Minister.
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He further added that Raila wanted to take advantage to intimidate him and other people in Government.
“President Uhuru told us to embrace the handshake and that is exactly what we are doing, but its like somebody somewhere wants now to take advantage of us embracing the handshake to come and intimidate us in the cabinet,” the CS claimed.
Achesa alleged the ODM leader was meeting western leaders accusing him (Echesa) of being a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto hence Uhuru was unhappy with him. He furher dared Raila to sack him.
“Kila mahali Raila anaenda anaita viongozi wa western anaanza kuwaambia mheshimiwa Uhuru Kenyatta hataki Rashid, Rashid ni mtu wa William Ruto. Please Raila, give me a break, I am not your equal!
“We have one Government led by Uhuru and William Ruto and those are the only people I will pledge my priority to and not to you, Raila Odinga. I want to dare you Raila, if you have the appointing authority, come and sack me,” said Echesa.
In an interview with Citizen TV on Tuesday (31/7/2018) Raila said the handshake between him and President Uhuru did not leave out his National Super Alliance colleagues as this was just a starting point for a long process of healing and moving the country forward.
"I have not left anybody out. We had agreed that what we were going to engage in were talks upon talks. These talks had to begin somewhere," Raila said.
Citizen TV’s Hussein Mohamed further asked the NASA leader the position he holds after joining Uhuru in the Building Bridges Initiative.
"I’m not in Government, if I was in Government I would have a specific title. I’m outside Government as a member of the ODM and NASA," said the former PM.
CS Echesa in May declared himself the senior-most leader in Western region.
“When President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed me, you heard many things. Some said that I was not educated. Did you hear me speak Karamojong or Luhya when I went for vetting. Come 2022, some of you will know whom I am,” he stated
The vocal CS spoke during Lubinu-Lusheya MCA Elly Keya’s thanksgiving in Mumias East constituency.
The video: