Opposition leader Raila Odinga was on Tuesday evening expected to jet back into the country amid expectations that President William Ruto is set to name the remaining half of his Cabinet on Wednesday.
Mr Odinga returns to a divided house in his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party as its members clash on whether or not to accept job offers in the Kenya Kwanza administration as part of Dr Ruto’s pledge to form a “broad-based” government.
The Nation has learnt that Mr Odinga met with President Ruto at least twice last week before the former Prime Minister flew out to Dubai.
According to sources within ODM, during the two meetings, President Ruto and Mr Odinga agreed to form a team to spearhead talks over slots that the opposition will be offered.
Mr Odinga’s team, according our source, had former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju, Suna East MP Junet Mohammed, Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga as well as Mr Odinga’s long-time confidante, Mr Joe Ager. President Ruto’s team had National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot.
Mr Odinga’s team reportedly visited State House last week and came back with an offer of four slots — Energy, National Treasury, Public Service, and Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development.
However, Mr Odinga, while being briefed of the progress by his team at a hotel in Karen together with his two deputies — Wycliffe Oparanya and Hassan Joho — is said to have demanded for Water and Health instead of Gender and Public Service.
His team returned to State House and had Mining and Blue Economy added to the list after Dr Ruto said he had already promised the Water docket to the Mt Kenya region.
Mr Odinga dropped his demands for the Health docket after his negotiators convinced him that the ministry is complex and scandal-ridden.
“Although the portfolios had been agreed on by the time he flew out last Friday, no names had been submitted to the President. Both teams felt that the President should be given a free hand to pick those he felt he would be comfortable working with,” the source said.
Mr Odinga had indicated that one of his slots would go to a nominee of former President Uhuru Kenyatta. He told President Ruto that the terms of engagement should be clearly spelt out and must include issues the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party has been raising since last year and others Gen Z protesters are raising before a full Cabinet could be named.
However, President Ruto felt he needed to put the government in place first then embark on addressing the issues raised by both the opposition and the youth.
The negotiations on sharing of Cabinet slots has put Mr Odinga on the horns of a political dilemma as he faces a public backlash as well as a split within both Azimio and ODM, a scenario that has seen Mr Odinga flip flop over the matter.
In a statement on Tuesday, ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna said ODM is not in any negotiations for inclusion in the Kenya Kwanza government.
All the party was seeking, Mr Sifuna maintained, was “a national conversation preceded by the creation of the necessary environment”to facilitate such talks.
“Some of our members have also fallen for the campaign of lies and misinterpreted our stance as a licence to engage the Kenya Kwanza leadership and canvass for ministerial and/or other positions in the Ruto government.”
Mr Sifuna warned that party members who negotiated with Dr Ruto to join his Cabinet would be doing so as an individual.
However, speaking on the floor of the National Assembly in yesterday’s afternoon session, Homa Town MP Peter Kaluma accused Mr Sifuna of contradicting the party position over the talks .
Party officials, the lawmaker noted in a veiled threat to Mr Sifuna, “are holding those positions on an interim basis” and should therefore toe the line.
Siaya Governor James Orengo, another close ally of Mr Odinga, has also publicly opposed the idea of ODM joining government, saying, the move smacks of “absolute treachery and an act of political cannibalism.”
“Even hyenas are not [greedy enough] to eat the dead,” he said.
ODM National chairman John Mbadi, who is said to be one of the three ODM politicians tipped to join the Cabinet, defended the decision. National Assembly minority leader Opiyo Wandayi echoed Mr Mbadi, saying, both the ODM Central Committee and the National Executive Council endorsed it.
“There is no contradiction whatsoever when it comes to constructive engagement with the Kenya Kwanza administration. There are communities that are not adequately represented in the Cabinet,” the MP said.
Mr Odinga on Sunday came up with fresh demands ahead of national dialogue, stressing that justice must precede any talks. Among the conditions he insisted must be met before a national conversation can take place include compensation for victims of police brutality, the dropping of all protest-related cases and the release of all those abducted and detained during the protests.
Mr Odinga also wants the resolution of issues relating to the welfare of health workers and education professionals, especially junior secondary school teachers.
He has demanded that the Social Health Insurance Fund scrapped and the National Health Insurance Fund retained.
Furthermore, he has called for the prosecution of police officers who perpetrated atrocities against peaceful protesters.
His co-principal in Azimio, Wiper Democratic Movement party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, on hs part said the coalition will not support the proposed government of national unity.
He made the pronouncement on Friday while in the company of fellow Azimio luminaries Jeremiah Kioni (Jubilee Party secretary-general) and Eugene Wamalwa of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K).
“We reiterate our public position that, when it comes to [a choice between] the people versus the Kenya Kwanza regime, the decision is as obvious as day and night. We will always side with the people,” he added.
Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua described previous talks, such as the National Dialogue Committee (Nadco), as “a complete fraud.”
“I cannot share a platform with Ruto and his regime. The last time I checked, Azimio had not recognised his win. Even the positions that Nadco brings, I salivate for none,” she had told the Nation in a previous interview.
