Raila Odinga during a press briefing on the status of Kenya's candidacy for the African Union chairmanship in Nairobi on June 5, 2024.
Opposition chief Raila Odinga on Tuesday met former ODM members currently serving in the Cabinet alongside party officials, as the country awaits further government changes.
Mr Odinga held talks with Cabinet Secretaries Wycliffe Oparanya (Co-operatives and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development), Hassan Joho (Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs), John Mbadi (National Treasury and Economic Planning) and Opiyo Wandayi (Energy and Petroleum) in Nairobi on Tuesday evening.
In attendance were top party officials including; Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, National Chairperson Gladys Wanga, Treasurer Timothy Bosire, and Executive Director Oduor Ong’wen among other officials.
Sources at the meeting told the Nation that it was, however, “an informal consultative meeting that ought not to raise any eyebrows.”
“If it was an official meeting the media would have been called but since you were not informed, then know there was nothing meant for you,” a senior official told Nation Thursday.
Mr Oparanya, a former deputy ODM party leader, said Mr Odinga was only “touching base with his soldiers after days out of the country.”
“He had been out of the country for some time for his AUC (African Union Commission) campaigns and so he was just touching base with his soldiers.
“He just wanted to know how we were fairing on and also briefed us how he was getting on with his campaigns,” Mr Oparanya told Nation on Thursday.
Mr Oparanya pointed out that Mr Odinga briefed them on his planned AUC campaign launch in Addis Ababa on Friday where he is expected to unveil his vision and priorities for Africa.
“Even as he urged us in the cabinet to take our roles seriously for the sake of Kenyans by supporting government policies, he urged party officials to stick to their lanes as opposition to keep us in check, but critic the government objectively,” Mr Oparanya added.
Mr Odinga is expected back in the country on Saturday evening ahead of the thanksgiving ceremony for ODM chairperson Gladys Wanga in Homa Bay on Sunday, November 10.
“Our party leader is expected to grace the occasion – a thanksgiving and interdenominational prayer service to celebrate the appointment of the party’s National chairperson Gladys Wanga,” ODM Secretary of Political Affairs Rozah Buyu told Nation.
The ceremony that will take place at Ligisa Secondary School in Rangwe constituency, Homa Bay county, she said, will be attended by other ODM luminaries and is also meant to drum up support for the party.
The party announced on Monday that it will resume its grassroots elections on November 27. This follows the postponement of the polls in April due to flooding in most parts of the country.
The party's National Elections Coordinating Committee (NECC) chairperson, Emily Awita, announced that the party was now ready to proceed with the elections, saying voting will take place in all centres in the 47 counties.
“We are ready to crisscross the country to popularize our party and the Sunday launch will also act as a launching pad for national conversation with our supporters across the country,” Ms Buyu said.
The party had been accused of abandoning the masses and working with the Kenya Kwanza administration following the July appointment of some of its members to the cabinet.
But the officials have insisted that they were in opposition and will continue to criticize the government whenever it veers off the track.
Sources intimated to Nation that with the impeachment of former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, there could be a reorganisation of government with more ODM members benefiting from government appointments.
President Ruto, who is currently with Mr Odinga in Ethiopia, is said to be mulling over reshuffling his government to not only take care of new partners from ODM but also to ensure that those who remain after Mr Gachagua’s ouster have no questionable loyalty to him.
Such civil servants face a bleak future, with indications that the Public Service Commission will soon advertise for Principal Secretaries (PS) amid reports of a mini Cabinet reshuffle.
The broad-based government means that Mr Odinga and his troops will have to be accommodated, with reports that he may have been promised an additional cabinet post and at least 10 Principal Secretary slots as part of the deal to support the government both inside and outside Parliament.
The same is expected to cascade down to the level of heads of parastatals and even ambassadorial positions.
There's almost a consensus that without Mr Odinga's support, President Ruto wouldn't have dared to go for Mr Gachagua.
Not only did Mr Odinga’s camp provide the numbers in Parliament, but it also offered a political buffer to deal with any backlash the impeachment might bring, and now there's talk that the deal is meant to cover Dr Ruto beyond the 2027 elections when he's expected to run for a second and final term.
