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ODM party director of communications Philip Etale has refuted remarks made by youthful politician Morara Kebaso on the status of his membership with the giant opposition party.

In a statement on Friday, December 13, 2024, Etale indicated that Kebaso only joined the party’s life membership subscription two years ago when he wanted to contest the Utawala Ward election in 2022.

This comes after Kebaso, famed for exposing the government’s stalled projects, indicated during a local TV morning show that he had been in ODM seven years ago.

“The truth is that whatever he (Kasmuel McOure) is doing at ODM is something I did there seven years ago. I was a youth leader in ODM when I was 22 years old,” Kebaso noted during the breakfast show.

Life Membership

“I spent some of my Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) money to pay for premium membership of Ksh20,000.”

However, ODM’s communication chief Etale indicated that Kebaso’s life membership only began two years ago.

“Life membership of the ODM party is voluntary. Anyone willing to join the party can choose to be an ordinary, life or corporate member. All these are on a voluntary basis. However, anyone vying for an elective seat must be a life member, and must pay a standard fee of Ksh20,000,” Etale said.

“In the case of Morara Kebaso, he applied for his life membership on the 22/09/22, when he was contesting for the delayed Utawala Ward election. This is 2 years ago and not 7 years ago as he has claimed in the media. Facts are stubborn but they must be told.”

Mainstream political parties

On Thursday, November 14, 2024, Kebaso claimed that a serious concerted effort was underway to swallow the Gen Z leaders into mainstream political parties.

However, Kebaso vowed that he would not be swayed by the move, assuring his supporters that he has no intentions of joining the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) or the Wiper Democratic Movement.

He went ahead to reveal that he had formed his Injection of National Justice, Economic and Civic Transformation (INJECT) party after anticipating the plan to swallow the Gen Zs and kill their movement.

“There is a very serious concerted effort to swallow all GenZ leaders into mainstream political parties to teach them the old corrupt style of politics. That is why we formed the INJECT Party. We will chart our own path. I will not join UDA or ODM or WIPER their time is over. It is our time now. Consistency to the end,” Kebaso stated.