The leader of Azimio la Umoja has suffered another blow after 9 lawmakers from his ODM party defected and backed President William Ruto.
As a result of what they referred to as his “endless politics,” the leaders who met the head of state at State House Nairobi turned their backs on Odinga.
The leaders will keep ignoring Odinga’s national movement in order to concentrate on the government’s objectives, even though they haven’t formally joined the Kenya Kwanza Alliance. This is a political dig at Odinga since President Ruto has been successful in stealing political power from his stronghold in Nyanza.
Tom Ojienda (Kisumu), Shakeel Shabir (Kisumu Town East), and Caroli Omondi are among the nine lawmakers (Suba South).
Other names include Mark Nyamita, Phelix Odiwour, Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Gideon Ochanda (Bondo), and Elisha Odhiambo (Gem) (Uriri). This comes after the political event in Kibra over the weekend, where a number of important allies in Odinga’s camp were noticeably missing.
In light of President Ruto’s efforts to court politicians from all over the nation in his drive for unity, the scenario raises doubts about whether the coalition would remain united. The former prime minister’s rallies have not been attended by any of the 21 governors elected on the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party platform.
Junet Mohammed, the MP for Suna East, David Murathe, Hassan Ali Joho, the vice chair of the Jubilee Party and a former governor of Mombasa, Charity Ngilu, a former governor of Kitui, and Peter Kenneth, a previous presidential candidate, among other notable individuals who have been skipping the rallies. Raila, who unsuccessfully campaigned for president in 2022, has declared that he will not be intimidated and that his weekly engagement meetings with Kenyans will continue.