The opposition now appears to be in limbo after President William Ruto nominated four persons to his Cabinet on Wednesday as part of his broad-based governing strategy.
In the second batch of CS nominees, Nominated MP John Mbadi will take over the Treasury ministry, Ugunja MP James Opiyo Wandayi will take over the Energy portfolio, former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho will lead the Mining and Blue Economy ministry, and former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya will head the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development.
President Ruto’s announcement has thrown the opposition into confusion, despite previous comments that they are not keen to join the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Barely 24 hours earlier, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General Edwin Sifuna warned its members against making themselves available for Cabinet appointments.
“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 said.
In his statement, Sifuna underlined that the party was not in talks with the administration about forming a coalition or reaching a political agreement, adding to the confusion surrounding the opposition’s plans to work with the government.
Last week, numerous opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition founders stated that they had no intention of joining the administration, seeing it as a betrayal of the Kenyan people.
Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka led the other parties, which included Jubilee, Democratic Action Party (DAP) Kenya, NARC Kenya, and the Party of National Unity.
On the other side, during the most recent Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting, the ODM party indicated its desire to engage with the current administration by endorsing demands for discussion to help the country get out of its current dilemma.
Furthermore, ODM National Chairman Mbadi accused his coalition colleagues of being dishonest rather than seeking ways to salvage the country’s future.
“We cannot follow Kalonzo because we do not know where he is going. I am not persuaded that Kalonzo is taking us anywhere,” Mbadi said over the weekend.
“This country must talk. Our partners in Azimio are dishonest. We have children and we have a country to save for them.”
Joho had also reiterated that the Raila Odinga-led ODM would choose the option that is ideal for the party.
“We must identify what works for us as ODM. We are the bigger party in Azimio and we cannot be bullied,” he noted.
Raila, who initiated the dialogue conversation with the government, also noted that the consequences for President Ruto’s resignation would be dire.
“It’s at times of crisis like this that a country needs to talk. We are not doing it to save Ruto. We are doing it to save Kenya. Generals don’t have teargas. They don’t have water cannons. They have bullets,” Raila said during the recent ODM PG meeting.
