President William Ruto has proposed three former allies of Raila Odinga for the position of Chief Administrative Secretary in the Kenya Kwanza cabinet.
These include former Kisumu Senator Fred Outa, former Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo, and former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero. Kidero and Gumbo have been nominated for the large Ministry of Investments, Commerce, and Industry, Outa for the Ministry of Mines, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs, and Kidero for the Ministry of Roads and Transport.
The appointments appear to be a planned ploy by Ruto to damage Raila Odinga in his native Nyanza, where the two have been bitter enemies for years. The nominations were made just three days after Ruto met with more than 30 regional leaders at State House, led by CS Eliud Owalo, and they vowed to work together to bring development initiatives to the Nyanza people.
“We’ve decided to cooperate with the administration…
We won’t let ourselves get cut off from the rest of Kenyans, “The timing was right, Kidero said, for Nyanza to support the current regime. Upon the announcement of Ruto as the victor of the August election, the leaders promptly dumped Raila. In his home territory, they have been organizing an uprising against the ODM leader.
Their hiring coincides with Raila’s intention to step up anti-government demonstrations starting on Monday in response to the Movement for Defence of Democracy’s Thursday last week debut. Ruto’s administration has been dubbed illegitimate by Raila, who also charged him with failing to cut the cost of living and implement transparent electoral changes.
Ruto, though, has rejected the demand for widespread protests, declaring that he will not be intimidated by them. Ruto stated his government will collaborate with all leaders from all political parties in order to change the economy as he met with the leaders at State House.