Cheap Leaders - Former Governor Wycliffe Oparanya Blasts Colleagues Ditching Raila For Ruto

Former Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya has taken issue with political leaders initially allied to Azimio La Umoja but are now jumping ship.

The former county boss seemed to be indirectly calling out his former colleagues in the Council of Governors (CoG) who have since decamped to president-elect William Ruto's side.

The exodus from the Raila Odinga-led faction was started off by former Mandera governor Ali Roba who led the UDM party in pledging allegiance to Ruto despite supporting Raila in the August 9 vote.

To follow suit would be former Kisii county boss James Ongwae who moved with a host of his loyalists to Ruto.

Faulting such moves, Oparanya said the leaders were depicting fraud by choosing to ditch the sides they originally supported.

According to him, such defections would weaken the opposition thus the government of the day operating without checks and balances.

“It's unfortunate and if they are being enticed, that is an election fraud, because you cannot be talking about Azimio just a week ago and days after you move to  Kenya Kwanza because you want favours, those are the leaders I would say are cheap," he said.

He restated that the ruling party would deliver to Kenyans if only there is a sound opposition, which according to him, the defectors are running from.

"We must have a strong opposition that will oversight the ruling party and their promises that were made during the campaign, through their manifesto," he added.

Oparanya is the deputy leader of the ODM party, a pioneer political outfit in the Azimio La Umoja faction.

He has vowed to undertake the opposition roles as Ruto and his team takes over the government.

Oparanya who was at the helm of Kakamega county for ten years was succeeded by Fernandes Barasa who won the governorship on an ODM ticket.