Editor's Review

“I have taken note of President William Ruto's announcement yesterday regarding the reconstitution of the cabinet to include four members from ODM."

Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga has broken his silence after his close allies were nominated to Cabinet positions by President William Ruto.

In a statement on Thursday, July 24, Odinga insisted that the ODM Party and the Azimio la Umoja coalition have not entered into a coalition agreement with the UDA party.

“I have taken note of President William Ruto's announcement yesterday regarding the reconstitution of the cabinet to include four members from ODM. 

“As articulated in our statement on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, neither the ODM Party nor Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party has entered into any coalition agreement with President Ruto's UDA party,” Odinga remarked.

The opposition chief wished the four nominees the best and expressed confidence that they would contribute positively to national development.

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File image of President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga. 

The four nominees include; Hassan Joho (Ministry of Mining), Wycliffe Oparanya (Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), John Mbadi (National Treasury and Economic Planning).

Odinga called on the government to compensate the families of the victims of extra-judicial executions and persons injured by the state since last year, to release all persons in custody, and to terminate all cases related to protests since 2023.

He also demanded the prosecution of police officers who were involved in the shooting of protestors during the anti-government demos.

“ODM remains steadfast in upholding its foundational principles of democracy, good governance, and social justice. These principles shall at all times guide our actions and decisions as we strive for the betterment of our nation,” Raila added.

Notably in the statement, Odinga failed to reveal whether he was consulted by President Ruto before making the four ODM members for the positions. 

Prior to the announcement, it had already emerged that Raila Odinga had agreed with President Ruto on the formation of a broad-based government.  

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Homabay Town MP Peter Kaluma disclosed that the ODM leader had sent names to the Head of State for consideration in the cabinet.

He noted that the ODM party had met before and resolved that the names be considered for cabinet positions.