On February 7, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party commented on rumors that nine lawmakers had abandoned the party’s leader, Raila Odinga, in favor of President William Ruto.
According to sources, eight ODM MPs and one independent member met at State House, thereby distancing themselves from the Azimio leader and pledging to cooperate with the current administration.
They apparently gave him the assurance that they wouldn’t go to any demonstrations for Azimio.
The lawmakers were Caroli Omondi (Suba South), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Gideon Ochanda, Mark Nyamita (Uriri), Tom Ojienda (Kisumu), Shakeel Shabir (Independent, Kisumu Town East), and Phelix Odiwour-Jalang’o (Lang’ata) (Bondo).
Jalang’o confirmed that he was one of the MPs that had coffee with President Ruto by sharing a picture of the two of them taken at State House.
“I asked if the Lang’ata TVET was finished and when the building of low-cost homes in the Highrise ward would start.”
“The job is underway, and the contractor has arrived. The finish would cost an additional Ksh50 million,” the well-known entertainer said.
On the other hand, Ruto said that the main goal of the convention was to get all of the leaders to work together to solve the problems facing the country.
“To address the issues affecting our nation, leaders must band together, promote harmony, and collaborate.”
They must make an effort to satisfy the needs of the populace and provide an exemplary example. This is a certain way to make Kenya more unified and advanced.
“After a recent trip to the area, I attended a consultative meeting with MPs from Nyanza at State House in Nairobi,” Ruto said.
Philip Etale, who is in charge of communications for the ODM, said on February 7 that the party had not yet gotten an official report.
Etale also urged rogue ODM members to resign if they were unhappy with how the opposition was run on a daily basis.
“Let their consciences lead them if the allegations are as real as claimed. They should follow the coalition’s directives since they were elected on Azimio ballots.”
He advised them to leave and join the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) if they felt that the ODM was insufficient for them.
Etale stated that unless the claims were verified, no disciplinary action would be taken. Jalang’o was attending the party’s weekend conferences, and if the stories were as accurate as claimed, he couldn’t see why he could have altered his opinion.