Belgut MP and chairperson of the powerful Defence and Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly Nelson Koech has claimed that a section of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MPs are secretly wishing Raila Odinga fail in his pursuit for the African Union Commission chairman bid.
Speaking on Monday, January 20, 2025, during a local TV breakfast show, Koech stated that the MPs have been hanging on the veteran opposition leader’s coattails and that his success at the continental body spells their political oblivion.
“There are people who have become collateral beneficiaries of Raila’s candidature in every election. There are politicians in Luo-Nyanza who would never want to hear Raila leave the political scene because they have benefited their entire lives being elected only as a result of being associated with Raila Odinga. They do no development,” Koech stated.
“There are parts of this country where delivery does not matter; you just say ‘Baba tosha’ and you are in parliament, Senate or whichever seat you are running for.”
Hold Raila at ransom
Koech indicated that a section of ODM leaders who are now calling for the party to reclaim its rightful opposition role against the Kenya-Kwanza administration are attempting to hold Raila at ransom.
He equally notes that the ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna and the MPs who have been calling out excesses in the government are simply disgruntled that they had not received part of the plum government offers awarded to a section of the party’s leaders.
ODM identity
During the funeral service of the Kenya National Commission of Human Rights’s Roseline Odede, senator Sifuna hit out at ODM leaders for what he called sycophancy with the ruling administration.
“We must stop being sycophants. If something is wrong, it is wrong. I will not participate in the activities of my fellow ODM members who are enjoying the fruits of being in Ruto’s government and are stifling my efforts to call out the government,” Sifuna said.
This came just days after a National Executive Council of ODM resolved that leaders speaking on future cooperation with the Ruto administration must stop. ODM noted that they have no political agreement with the UDA party and that their members must actively engage in their oversight roles.
“When you (Raila) decided to run for the AUC, you told me as the Secretary General of ODM that we must retain the identity of our political party as a beacon of hope for Kenyans. This is what I aspire to do whether you succeed or not,” Sifuna added.
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