Oburu-Wanga: Ruto's negotiators or grassroots mobilizers?

ODM leaders in the Oburu Odinga faction are sending mixed signals about what they really want in the broad-based government arrangement, on one hand saying they will support President William Ruto's re-election and on the other cautioning members against openly campaigning for him and his UDA party.

Drama played out at a rally held in Mombasa two weeks ago, when minority leader Junet Mohammed cautioned businessman and self-declared ally of the late ODM party leader Raila Odinga, Oketch Salah, against printing ODM T-shirts emblazoned with President Ruto's face.

"Salah, stop making this business of making T-shirts for the president band ODM together. Make T-shirts for ODM alone, or we'll whip you," said Junet, who was the master of ceremony at the charged rally in Tononoka grounds.

Earlier in Homa Bay, party chairperson Gladys Wanga also cautioned party members in the area against campaigning for UDA in Nyanza, including at functions convened by current party leader Oburu Odinga.

The continued declaration by leaders from the same faction that they support President Ruto’s re-election has also left the party supporters wondering how they will negotiate with the government inthe pro broad based arrangement.

The pro-Oburu Oginga-Gladys Wanga ODM faction has been crisscrossing their stronghold areas drumming up support for Ruto’s re-election bid, claiming they were left in the broad-based arrangement by the late Raila Odinga, a move that political experts now believe seriously weakens their bargaining power.

Some of the broad-based leaders who have already started campaigns for Ruto’s re-election bid include Wanga, Oburu, Cabinet Secretaries Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), John Mbadi (National Treasury), Hassan Joho (Blue Economy and Mining), and a section of the ODM legislators who maintain they will not support any other Presidential candidate other than President Ruto.

Wandayi has been on a charm offensive, rallying the ODM supporters to back Ruto’s re-election, claiming he had shown himself to be a loyal friend to the region even as he vowed to consolidate their bases in support of Ruto ahead of next year’s polls.

“Politically, we have got just two formations clearly, and there's going to be no big change between now and in the homestretch to the elections. You are either with President Ruto, or you are with the other formation led by Gachagua, so this confusion that a few of us would want to bring here, we must deal with it early enough,” Wandayi

Mathare MP Antony Oluoch last week said they would not ditch the government to go and look for the government, saying, "What political theory or government system is this that you are in government and then you have to leave to join a united opposition to come back to government?”

Mbadi has urged Nyanza residents to rally behind Ruto in next year’s elections, maintaining that the party had resolved to back the President for a second term, citing his development record and achievements.

The CS  chided a group of ODM leaders he calls rebels who are against Ruto’s second-term bid, saying they have failed to provide any concrete alternative the party should support, and also blamed them for incitement.

 “There are leaders who incite people against Ruto’s re-election bid. You can do so, but your efforts will bear no fruit because Ruto will be elected again in 2027. As a party, ODM has decided to support Ruto, and there is no further debate about it. Let us all be prepared to support him come next year’s election,” Mbadi added.

Wanga has also been drumming up support for Ruto while citing the benefits of the working relationship between ODM and Ruto’s administration in the ODM strongholds.

“We support the government and the programs the President is rolling out. We know we might not see the results immediately, but the improvements taking place in our health sector will soon be evident. Even though there have been teething problems with SHA, the program is picking up and will soon transform our people’s healthcare,” Wanga stated.

Political analysts and a section of the Linda Mwananchi proponents opposed to the UDA—ODM pre-election talks believe their counterparts were conflicted as they could not be campaigning for the President while at the same time demanding a power-sharing formula.

Saboti MP Caleb Amisi said the pro-broad-based leaders were not interested in seeking the Presidency but were only keen on supporting Ruto’s re-election, even as he blamed them for going against the wishes of the late Raila.

“Since the onset, the leaders who support Ruto betrayed Raila; he never wanted us to support Ruto, and those who were given the Cabinet slots were given them against the wishes of Raila. He was in Dubai, and when he came back, they had already accepted the position. He did not want to embarrass them, that's why he never went public,” Amisi said.

He added ‘Baba wanted us to file a Presidential candidate in 2027. I remember him telling us that we should enjoy the proceeds of this administration for a while since they stole our election.”

However, Amisi blamed Raila for the confusion that had engulfed his party for what he termed as ‘failing to declare his political stand on supporting or not supporting President Ruto.”