Raila’s move is a patriotic gesture, stop criticising him – Wanga

ODM chairperson Gladys Wanga has defended the move by party leaders to join President William Ruto’s government, saying it was meant to save the country from disintegrating.

She said the party is not in any coalition agreement with the Kenya Kwanza government.

Wanga, who was addressing Garissa ODM members and officials, said the move was necessitated by the prevailing circumstances and in the best interest of the country.

It was her first meeting since she was picked last Friday in the changes made by the party's Central Management Committee.

On July 24, Ruto nominated four ODM members to his Cabinet. They have since taken the oath of office.

The four are CSs Hassan Joho (Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs), Opiyo Wandayi (Energy and Petroleum) and John Mbadi (National Treasury Economic Planning) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Cooperatives).

The move was criticised by some Kenyans, especially Gen Zs, who accused the opposition party of being betrayers and taking advantage of their movement.

Among the first people to criticise the move was Siaya Governor James Orengo, who termed the move an abomination, a disaster and something that cannot work.

But Wanga, who is also Homa Bay governor, asked those opposed to the arrangement to tone down their condemnation.

“I have heard people asking many question like where are we in all this arrangement that we have with the government. The truth of the matter is that we are not in any coalition agreement,” she said.

“The relationship we have with the Kenya Kwanza government is one meant to save the country from the path it was going into. Because truth be told, we were at a crossroad and we were almost losing our country.”

Wanga, who replaced Mbadi in ODM leadership, praised Raila for "showing statesmanship".

She said it was getting to a point where Kenyans would not have recognised their country due to the escalation of protests, which had degenerated to destruction of property and looting.

Garissa Governor Nathif Jama said they will embark on grassroots activities to strengthen the party.

He said the county has consistently supported ODM leaders and their love for the party has been evident in every election.

Garissa ODM chairperson Mohamed Ali said Wanga's visit marks a significant step in strengthening grassroots recruitment and party engagement.

"Wanga’s leadership is set to inspire renewed energy and dedication among our members as we continue to work together towards achieving our party’s goals," he said. 

In the 2022 general election, Raila got 81,376 votes while Ruto got 28,111 votes in the county.

Many elective seats were won by Azimio.

“ODM is a huge political party in this country. And we are not visitors in this great party. We have been very strong members and that will continue going into the future,” Jama said.