Kaluma claims ODM knew officials were marked for Cabinet

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Homabay Town MP Peter Kaluma has taken a swipe at ODM Party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, and other members opposed to appointing top party leaders to President William Ruto’s new cabinet. 

According to Kaluma, ODM members met severally to discuss various issues about the prevailing political climate including the pending appointment of ranking members of the party to the reconstituted ‘broad-based’ cabinet.

“Do you believe the two Deputies, Chairman, and Minority Leader of the Party would accept the appointment without consulting? That is the machinery of the Party,” posed Kaluma while speaking on Spice FM on Friday.

 “There is nothing like us joining the government. However, we empowered our leader, Raila Odinga, to continue engaging other parties because we are a growing party. So far, there is no alliance between ODM and UDA or Kenya Kwanza,” he added.

President Ruto has tapped into the talent within the Opposition picking its two deputy party leaders, Wycliffe Oparanya and Ali Joho, Party chairman John Mbadi, and its Secretary for political affairs Opiyo Wandayi.

However, several ODM members, mainly young MPs, have expressed their reservations concerning the development that critics term an “act of greed and a betrayal” of victims of the recent anti-government protests.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, and his Saboti counterpart, Caleb Amisi are among MPs who have publicly differed with the ranks of the Party while choosing to back Sifuna’s assertion that members co-opted into the government will be acting individually.

“Any ODM member who makes themselves available to join the Kenya Kwanza Cabinet, or any other position, should know that they do so without the blessing or support of the party,” said Sifuna.

Kaluma has accused the dissenting Party stalwarts of dishonesty and “speaking in tongues” despite attending the parliamentary group meeting where members agreed to pursue demands raised by Gen Z protesters ahead of a formal engagement with Ruto’s government.

The contentious issue of appointments was reportedly discussed.

“Until last night, Thursday, when Odinga jetted back into the country he could not go home trying to listen to different communities about the appointment as if he is the one appointing,” remarked Kaluma.

Despite the lack of a common position among ODM loyalists, Kaluma insists that the Party is still intact even as the Azimio coalition begins to crumble with the expected exit of Martha Karua’s Narc-Kenya.