Close allies of opposition leader Raila Odinga at the heart of his political deal with President William Ruto held a series of late-night meetings before the naming of the new Cabinet, Nation can reveal.
Mr Odinga’s elder brother, Oburu Oginga, former Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju, Minority Whip Junet Mohammed, Mr Odinga’s long-time confidante Mr Joe Ager and Prof Adams Oloo brokered the broad-based government that saw the inclusion of ODM politicians in government.
Former Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo also served as a key emissary for Mr Odinga in securing the deal with President Ruto. Mr Obasanjo was in the country during the period preceding the naming of the new Cabinet.
On the other hand, President Ruto had a small team of National Assembly majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah and his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot
Multiple interviews with some of the players reveal that most of the meetings that took place at night were held at Mr Tuju’s Entim Sidai in Karen while others were held at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation (JOOF).
Mr Tuju confirmed meeting some of the individuals who were involved in the talks but denied any substantive involvement in brokering the political deal. He said he is a Jubilee member therefore cannot broker a deal on behalf of ODM.
He also confirmed attending a meeting at SKM centre a day after President Ruto nominated ODM chairman John Mbadi, National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, Wycliffe Oparanya and Hassan Joho.
“It is true I was there in the morning. Oparanya, Kioni, Munya and Kalonzo were also in the meeting,” said Mr Tuju.
Mr Kioni in an interview with Nation revealed details of the July 25 meeting. He said Mr Tuju tried to convince Mr Kalonzo to support the deal between the President and Mr Odinga.
“Tuju spoke as a person who had been dispatched from the State House. He was either speaking for someone in government or someone who was about to join the government,” said Mr Kioni.
Mr Oparanya, Mr Kioni said, told the meeting about his offer in the Cabinet during the meeting. But we told him to reject it because this is a government that has ‘totally collapsed’.
For Mr Odinga's politburo, joining forces with President Ruto was the lesser of two evils, much as we understand it was a pre-emptive strike as some Azimio partners are said to have already opened a channel with DP Gachagua for a possible alliance in the next elections.
The feeling in Mr Odinga's quarters was that they would all lose if the Kenya Kwanza regime collapsed. A regime change in such circumstances, at a time when there's no properly constituted electoral body, would have meant the military taking over and the political class marginalised, insiders say.
Some said Mr Kalonzo had already started talking about having Kamba as part of GEMA for the purposes of the 2027 polls. Mr Kalonzo is said to be gravitating towards Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua ahead of the next polls.
“The western wing has raised concerns within Azimio why Kalonzo can freely talk about Gema and possibly working with Gachagua, but it becomes an issue when Raila agrees to work with President Ruto,” said a senior Azimio official.
But Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, a close ally of Mr Musyoka said they have no apology in their pursuit to close ranks with the Gema communities since they share a historical background. He said Kama was maliciously removed, and it was in the interest of the community that they join forces ahead of the next poll.
Mr Odinga’s team first held their meeting on July 16, five days after President Ruto dissolved his Cabinet and announced plans for a broad-based government. The meeting held at Entim Sidai was attended by Mr Tuju, Mr Junet, Prof Oloo, Mr Oburu and National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi.
A follow-up meeting on Thursday at the same venue was attended by Mr Odinga alongside Mr Oburu, Mr Mohammed, Mr Ager and Prof Oloo. It was hosted by Mr Tuju.
Later that day, Mr Tuju is said to have led a team of Mr Junet, Prof Oloo and Mr Ager for a meeting with President Ruto, who was in the company of Mr Ichung’wah. The meeting is said to have gone past midnight.
On July 19 when the President announced the first batch of 11 nominees, Mr Odinga flew out to Dubai amid reports that there were disagreements within Azimio and ODM on whether to take up the offer by the President. There were also reports of a disagreement on some of the portfolios that Dr Ruto had offered the opposition.
The team would on July 21 hold a further meeting to take a position on the offer made by the President. In the meeting, the nominees committed to take up the slots.
An aide to Mr Tuju, Steve Mwanga, confirmed some of the meetings that took place at the restaurant. “Tuju being a politician and a national leader, it is a normal occurrence for him to host such meetings,” said Mr Mwanga.
Mr Odinga also separately met President Ruto at least twice last before the former Prime Minister flew out to Dubai. According to sources, Mr Odinga is said to have told President Ruto that the terms of engagement be clearly spelt out and must include the issues Azimio has been raising since last year as well as the concerns raised by the Gen Zs.
However, President Ruto felt he needed to put the government in place first and then embark on addressing the issues raised by both the opposition and the protesting youths.
Mr Odinga’s team also visited State House where they made a deal for ODM to take up four slots – Energy, National Treasury, Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development as well as Mining and Blue Economy.
