The dialogue that Azimio chief Raila Odinga is pushing for is not about him joining the government but about creating preconditions for justice and good governance, Siaya Governor James Orengo has said.
Orengo who spoke at a funeral in Siaya on Saturday, said he couldn't understand why some Azimio leaders think Raila wants to join the government.
He said the dialogue is not about forming a coalition government with President William Ruto but a precondition for justice for those who died, who are in jail, and who were abducted.
“ODM cannot fall for such a trap when it was just the other day that Ruto called us names and has not apologised. What could have changed this early?” Orengo posed.
He was speaking in Rarieda during the burial of former Siaya MCA Pamela Ngure.
The governor said Raila is only trying to make things clear on the way forward for the country, which requires preconditions in the form of dialogue as Ruto is not trustworthy.
Orengo criticised those opposed to the dialogue mechanism, wondering where they usually hide when things are hot but only resurface when everything is on the table to create confusion.
“This is the reason Gen Z don’t want politicians in their call for good governance because they are opportunists, as some have started thinking of jobs in the middle of a crisis,” he said.
He recalled that it was Gen Z who ensured that the Finance Bill was not passed and went ahead to ensure that the Cabinet was dissolved, but those who were adamant about not making peace were after jobs.
He said the first agenda on the table should be peace, security and justice for those who lost lives during demonstrations, those in jail and those abducted, not those who want to join the government.
Orengo said Raila is in the picture to ensure there is a proper perspective on what must be done.
“In some parts of the country, we are still burying those who were killed in the demonstrations, but some leaders are distracting us on how to join the government we don’t support.”
The governor said it’s foolhardy to see some leaders enthusiastic about joining Ruto’s government without a fundamental consideration of the key agenda on the table.
He regretted that some leaders were mobilising towards ethnic camps instead of national ideologies with the constitution as the main pillar.
The country needs a collective resolution, he said, but President Ruto cannot be the absolute determiner of the resolution, hence the need for everyone on board to make a fair resolution.
Orengo also condemned the half Cabinet that was recently unveiled, wondering why the President had to recycle the old guards when the country has over 50 million citizens.
“For example, our party ODM had already declared that people like the Interior CS nominee Kithure Kindiki should be prosecuted for crimes against extrajudicial killings during peaceful demonstrations,” he said.
He added that the perceived new faces, all come from constituencies that are determined by a specific agenda and mission.
Orengo dismissed the notion that the Cabinet being formed will be a broad-based one when the appointing officer is still President Ruto.
“We are still in the dog house. That Cabinet should have been dismissed in totality, but I’m glad that Gen Z will not allow such child play as they will again walk in Parliament to dismiss the nominees,” Orengo said.