The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party on Tuesday, February 7, weighed in on reports of nine legislators allegedly ditching party leader, Raila Odinga, for President William Ruto.
Reports indicated that eight ODM MPs and an independent lawmaker convened at State House, whereby they essentially ditched the Azimio leader and pledged to work with the ruling government.
Among the politicians included Phelix Odiwour – Jalango – (Langata), Mark Nyamita (Uriri), Tom Ojienda (Kisumu), Shakeel Shabir (Independent – Kisumu Town East) and Caroli Omondi (Suba South), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Gideon Ochanda (Bondo). The identity of the other two MPs was yet to be disclosed by the time of publication.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Tuesday, February 7, ODM Director of Communications Philip Etale affirmed that the party was yet to receive an official report but pointed out that the politicians ought to be guided by the Azimio coalition, which helped them clinch seats in the 2022 General Election.
Etale also warned errant ODM members to quit if they felt dissatisfied with the day-to-day operations of the opposition.
“If the reports are true as alleged, let their conscience guide them. They were elected on Azimio tickets and should receive instructions from the coalition.
“If they believe that ODM is not sufficient for them, they should quit and join the United Democratic Alliance (UDA),” he stated.
Etale added that no disciplinary action would be taken until the reports were confirmed. He noted that Jalang’o was in the party’s series of meetings during the weekend, and he couldn’t comprehend why he may have changed his mind if the reports were true as alleged.
Efforts by Kenyans.co.ke to reach Jalang’o were futile as he did not respond to calls or texts.
Presidential Communication Service boss, David Mugonyi and State House spokesperson, Hussein Mohamed, did not respond to queries on the issue.
More to follow
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE