Edwin Sifuna Urges ODM Nominees to Resign Before Vetting

Edwin Sifuna, the secretary general of the Orange Democratic Movement, has demanded that party members nominated by President William Ruto to join his cabinet should resign before their vetting.

During an interview, Sifuna stated that the four ODM-allied members had not been recommended to join Ruto’s government and that their nominations did not represent the party’s position.

Sifuna argued that the members should have resigned before going for vetting in Parliament.

“I expect that before they go for vetting, I will receive resignations from their positions in the party. That is my expectation because the law is that they cannot go into cabinet as parties and members of political parties,” he said.

The secretary general revealed that, while they were aware of people negotiating with Ruto, it had not been done officially through the party structures. Moreover, he clarified that the decision of these four individuals to join the government had not been endorsed by ODM.

“Did we know that people were negotiating with Ruto? Yes, we knew. Was it something being done officially through the party structures? No. Did we endorse the decision by these four individuals to join government? No. It is not a decision of ODM.”

Raila Odinga’s Alleged Non-Involvement

Additionally, Sifuna noted that even party leader Raila Odinga did not approve the nominations. He suggested that if Odinga had been involved, there would have been gender equity among the nominees.

He also noted that the president had never stated that he consulted Raila; instead, he had simply announced the names of the people he had appointed.

“Even the president himself never said he consulted Raila. He never said he consulted ODM; he just said the names of the people he has appointed, and it is his prerogative as the president,” noted Sifuna.

Sifuna continued by stating that, had Raila been asked to present the names of capable individuals, he would not have given only four names, with two from the same region, in a party that is diverse.

“If Raila Odinga was asked to present names of people who are capable of turning around this country and addressing the issues that have been raised by Gen Z, the Raila I know will not present four names of all men. There is no way Raila presents four names, two from one region in a party as diverse as ODM.”

President Ruto’s Nominations

During the second announcement of cabinet nominees, President Ruto appointed ODM members John Mbadi, a nominated MP, to the Treasury ministry; Ugunja MP James Opiyo Wandayi to the Energy docket; former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho to Mining and the Blue Economy; and former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya to Cooperatives and MSMEs Development.

Just a day before these nominations, Sifuna had clarified that ODM was not negotiating any coalition agreement or lobbying for appointments within Ruto’s government.