Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei rejects the ODM deputy president bid in a stinging rebuke that has chilled whispers of a grand 2027 alliance, with the Nandi senator declaring the top slots off-limits to the late Raila Odinga’s party amid coalition horse-trading.
Speaking on a Sunday talk circuit, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, a staunch Kenya Kwanza loyalist, drew a firm line: “We cannot give the Deputy President seat to ODM. We can offer them Wazee wa Mitaa positions and other seats.”
His words, laced with Rift Valley grit, landed like a veto in the fragile broad-based government talks, signalling President Ruto’s inner circle won’t budge on power-sharing despite ODM’s overtures.
The outburst came hours after ODM bigwigs, including ODM Chair Gladys Wanga, hinted at eyeing the running mate slot as payback for their post-protest truce with the administration.
Sources close to the negotiations say ODM leaders floated the idea during closed-door huddles last week, dangling full-throated backing for Ruto’s re-election in exchange for a KANU-style deputy perch – a nod to historical pacts that once glued Uhuru and Raila.
But Cherargei, fresh from a Nandi rally, torched the notion on a live stream, insisting the presidency and its understudy are locked for Ruto and Kithure Kindiki.
“ODM has feasted enough on the broad-based plate; time for elders’ council gigs or cabinet scraps,” he quipped, his tone a mix of jest and jaw-set resolve.
This isn’t idle banter; it’s a pivot from September’s olive branches, when Cherargei himself teased a possible DP deal in a People Daily op-ed, painting ODM as potential “bridge-builders” over the Azimio chasm.
Back then, with Gen-Z fury still smouldering from finance bill ashes, Ruto’s team courted opposition buy-in to steady the ship.
Fast-forward two months, and the mood’s soured: ODM’s demands for fiscal probes and youth quotas clashed with UDA’s grip on security dockets, per insiders.
Cherargei’s salvo frames it as payback for perceived ingratitude – ODM’s cabinet nods notwithstanding. The ODM camp fired back swiftly.
Opposition locals, never one to duck shade, posted a frog emoji thread mocking “Rift Valley gatekeepers” as relics in devolution’s dust.
“Wazee wa Mitaa? That’s elder abuse, not alliance-building,” locals jabbed, rallying Azimio holdouts with calls for a standalone 2027 push.
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, ODM’s chair, echoed the frost in a Kisumu presser: “We joined hands for Kenya, not handouts. If DP’s off the table, so’s the deal.”
“ODM out” means “opposition fire.”. Polls from Infotrak, still fresh from October, show Ruto’s approval dipping to 48 per cent in Nyanza, a red flag if alliances fray.
Broader strokes reveal a high-wire act for 2027. Kenya Kwanza’s broad-based experiment, born of June’s street rage, has netted ODM three ministries but strained the seams – people think it stalled impeachment bids and budget vetoes.
Cherargei’s hardline echoes Kindiki’s quiet consolidation, positioning the Meru don as heir apparent while boxing out Raila’s shadow.
As dusk cloaks Nairobi’s skyline, Cherargei’s rejection hangs heavy, a coalition canary in the coalmine. Will ODM swallow the slight and snag those elder seats, or will he bolt back to Azimio’s barricades?
