Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has dismissed claims of banging a table on the late Raila Odinga.
Speaking during an interview on Wednesday, Babu said he has never disrespected the late former Prime Minister.
“We were in a meeting with Aladwa, Mwenje, Mawathe, Anthony Oluch, Orero and Jalang’o. I did not bang any table on Baba Raila Odinga. Baba was my leader, and I respect the elders,” Babu stated.
The ODM lawmaker went on to say that the late Raila never publicly claimed that he had disrespected him.
“Raila himself, if I had a problem with him, you never heard Baba say, even once, at a public rally that this old man had disrespected me.”
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Babu claimed that people are taking advantage of Raila’s death to make unverified allegations.
“Now that Baba has passed away, everyone is saying, ‘Baba told me this,’ and everyone has their own version of events,” he added.
Babu’s clarification comes days after Calvin Okoth, popularly known as Gaucho, claimed that Raila had told him Babu banged a table after he failed to secure the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
“Raila told me, ‘Your brother Babu banged the table and said, I am crying that I have been denied the presidency. Get out of my way. If I don’t want to become President, then get out of my way and let them take over,” Gaucho claimed.
Notably, on June 7, the late Raila’s aide Dennis Onyango claimed that the former premier viewed Babu as a trouble to his camp.
He explained that Raila thought that the Embakasi East lawmaker was impatient.
“Raila thought that Babu was going to be a trouble to his base. He thought that the guy was impatient.
“You know, if you have a legacy or a lineup that runs from Jaramogi, there are so many people in the queue, and you want to come and jump them, you are putting Raila in a difficult situation. So, he didn’t appreciate the speed at which Babu was moving,” Onyango said.
In a response, Babu said the late Raila’s opinion of him was unfair and said he would remain steadfast in his political ambitions.
“I think this is unfair, but we will be there no matter what,” the Embakasi East MP wrote.
