ODM not in talks with Ruto's Kenya Kwanza for Cabinet slots

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna. [File, Standard]

The ODM Party has denied allegations that it is in talks with President William Ruto to join the Kenya Kwanza government by fronting members to the new Cabinet.

According to Party Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, any of their members who take up a Cabinet slot in the reconstituted cabinet will be deemed to have acted on their own.

“As a Party, we wish to make it unequivocally clear that we are not in negotiations with the Ruto regime for any coalition or political arrangement,” said Sifuna, adding “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.”

Sifuna’s remarks coincide with rife speculations that senior members of the Raila Odinga-led Party are gearing up for appointment in the upcoming Cabinet.

However, this revelation has occasioned sharp criticisms directed at ODM as proponents of the current anti-government protests accuse it of becoming a shell of its former pro-reforms self.

National Dialogue

In its defense, ODM says that its position on the proposed broad-based dialogue and eventual formation of an all-inclusive government has been misconstrued to mean a clean bill of health for the government of President Ruto.

“A narrative has been woven that ODM is desperate to join the government when all along we have been clear that what we seek is a national conversation preceded by the creation of the necessary environment through the implementation of our demands,” said Sifuna.

Among the issues raised by ODM before a formal engagement with the government include compensation for protest victims, release of protesters from police custody, dropping of protest-related cases, prosecution of protest killer cops, and sacking of Nairobi Region Police Commander Adamson Bungei.

Cracks have emerged in the opposition after Azimio coalition parties rejected overtures from President Ruto with more opposition coming from within Odinga’s own ODM party.

“Taking a CS position in the name of ODM betrays the principles of the Constitution and the progressive movement which the party represents. It’s an absolute treachery and an act of political cannibalism. Even hyenas are not as bloodthirsty to eat the dead,” remarked Siaya Governor James Orengo.

Odinga now finds himself in a catch twenty-two, forced to choose between the government which is spearheading campaigns for his African Union Commission Chairperson bid, and anti-government protesters who are perceived to form a big chunk of his political support base.