• Following President Ruto’s announcement of the second batch of his Cabinet nominees, the country is cruising through the unchartered waters of confusion, occasioned by the proposal of four names from the opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
  • Sifuna has also proposed a remedy to the ailment, saying, “If there was a conversation, it ought to be about the entire makeup of the Cabinet because you need people who are in sync since you cannot be pulling in different directions,” he stated.

Following President Ruto’s announcement of the second batch of his Cabinet nominees, the country is cruising through the unchartered waters of confusion, occasioned by the proposal of four names from the opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

The Head of State presented Ugunja MP James Opiyo Wandayi for the Energy Ministry, former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho for the Mining and Blue Economy docket, Nominated MP John Mbadi for the Treasury Ministry, and former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya into the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs Development.

However, ODM’s Secretary General, Sen. Edwin Sifuna, has trashed the claims that these four individuals have the party’s blessings in their new jobs as Cabinet Secretaries for the Kenya Kwanza Government.

This comes after he announced that there are no talks with the government, crippling any expectations for any coalition or any appointments whatsoever.

“As a party, we wish to make it unequivocally clear that we are not in negotiations with the Ruto regime for any coalition or political arrangement,” the statement read in part.

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He has continued to denounce the President’s choice, hinting at a conflict of interest within the new Cabinet, saying, “The CS nominees don’t have blessings from the ODM Party. I can assure you that Mbadi doesn't understand the bottom-up transformative manifesto. Can John Mbadi reduce taxes as the Treasury Cabinet Secretary?”

Sifuna has further demanded the resignation of the four nominees from their positions in the ODM party before they head for vetting in Parliament, backing his wish with the felt absence of the party leader in the pick.

“I expect the resignation of the ODM members who were nominated by President Ruto to join his Cabinet before they go for vetting. If Raila Odinga was asked to present names of people who are capable of turning around this country, and address the issues raised by the Gen Zs, there is no way Raila would only present male nominees for the CS positions,” he said.

Despite having vital party members like the Chairman (Hon. John Mbadi) and the minority leader in the Parliament (Hon. Opiyo Wandayi) in the Cabinet, Sifuna has stayed true to his word. He has claimed that ODM has not joined the government in any way, terming the nominations as individual affairs and not a representation of the party.

The Nairobi Senator has aligned his loss of faith in the new Cabinet, quoting the ratio of 4 ODM members in a Cabinet of 22. He has linked this situation to the selected ODM members' faint impact on the Kenya Kwanza Government.

Sifuna has also proposed a remedy to the ailment, saying, “If there was a conversation, it ought to be about the entire makeup of the Cabinet because you need people who are in sync since you cannot be pulling in different directions,” he stated.