Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua now claims Lang’ata Member of Parliament Felix Odiwuor alias Jalang’o is no longer in the opposition.

Jalang’o is a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party that is headed by opposition leader Raila Odinga and has been at loggerheads with the party over his political dalliance with President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration.

Speaking in Starehe, Nairobi, on Monday, March 6, Gachagua said the youthful legislator had found a new home in Ruto’s administration after he was kicked out of the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition Parliamentary Group meeting at Maanzoni Lodge in Machakos county following his visit to State House last month. ODM is a founder member of the opposition coalition.

“Sisi tunasema kila mtu yuko tayari kwa maendeleo. Huyu Jalang’o ni wetu tayari. Ata siku alitembelea raisi walienda wakamfukuza kwa mkutano (We are saying everybody is ready for development. Jalang’o is ours already. Even when he visited Ruto they chased him away from their meeting),” Gachagua said while urging Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi of ODM to defect to Kenya Kwanza.

Jalang’o had earlier said he met Ruto at State House for development purposes.

The MP and his Dagoretti North counterpart, Elachi, were among the leaders who attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the proposed Starehe Point Affordable Housing project in Ziwani.

The event was presided over by Ruto.

Gachagua called on the opposition MPs to join forces with Ruto in his quest for development even as he castigated planned rallies to protest against Kenya Kwanza policies.

“We want to ask all those in the opposition who care about improving the lives of our people to team up with President Ruto. We are ready to work with them but we won’t entertain empty rhetorics and demonstrations,” he said.

On his part, Ruto affirmed that he is ready to work with all leaders for the development of the country.

He said political affiliation does not matter when the government wants to better the lives of millions of ordinary people.

“We will transform Kenya; but not through empty rhetorics,” he said.

The Ksh13 billion project launched by President Ruto will develop at least 6,000 units made up of one, two and three-bedroom houses.

The selling price for the units will be starting from Ksh1.2 Million.

“This is what we mean by offering decent homes while generating employment for the youth,” President Ruto said.

Known as Starehe Point, the joint venture between GulfCap Real Estate and the National Government will create more than 5,000 jobs.

It will dedicate more than Ksh500 million worth of tenders to Jua Kali artisans.

According to Chairman of GulfCap Real Estate Suleiman Shahbal, at least 50 per cent of the tenders will go to women.

Other leaders who graced the event are Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, and MPs Amos Mwago (Starehe), Yusuf Hassan (Kamukunji), James Gakuya (Embakasi North), Benjamin Gathiru (Embakasi Central), Ronald Karauri (Kasarani) and Mwafrika Kamande (Roysambu) and Mugambi Rindikiri (Buuri).