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Kapseret Member of Parliament (MP) Oscar Sudi has urged ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna to team up with the Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka to form the opposition.

In a statement on his X on Thursday, July 25, 2024, Sudi extended the advice to the Nairobi senator amid cracks in the Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya coalition.

“Edwin Sifuna, as a lawyer of high repute, feel free to enjoy your constitutional right and team up with Kalonzo Musyoka to form a formidable opposition,” Sudi noted.

The statement comes after President William Ruto nominated four senior ODM officials to be part of his proposed broad-based government which seeks to portray the face of the country and ensure stability.

Ruto nominated leader of Minority Opiyo Wandayi as CS Energy and Petroleum, Hassan Joho as CS Mining, ODM chairman John Mbadi CS Treasury and National Planning and Wycliffe Oparanya CS Cooperatives.

On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, Sudi congratulated the ODM nominees for cabinet secretary positions, stating that the new cabinet represented the face of the country.

“I congratulate all Cabinet nominees announced by President Ruto to support him achieve his dream for Kenya. The list represents meritocracy, inclusivity and 1 Kenya at a time when Kenyans are yearning for stability. I ask Kenyans to support the President’s broad-based government,” Sudi said on X.

Sifuna double-speak

Sudi’s statement comes after Sifuna released a statement distancing the ODM party from negotiations leading to nominations into the cabinet.

In the statement, Sifuna warned that ODM party members engaging in canvassing for cabinet slots would be on their own and would not receive the blessings of the party.

“Any ODM member who makes themselves available to join the Kenya-Kwanza cabinet or any other position should know that they do so without the blessing or support of the party,” Sifuna said on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

The senator has since expressed his support for the nominees, saying he has confidence in their ability to deliver to the President.

However, he noted that the ODM leaders co-opted into Ruto’s government would need to take a course to familiarise themselves with the Bottom-Up agenda, which he said the four were opposed to and lacked understanding of.

“I would want him (Mbadi) to be taken on a course on this thing called Bottom-Up; I know Mbadi. He doesn’t know what Bottom-Up is. He doesn’t believe in that philosophy,” Sifuna said during a live TV show on Thursday, July 25, 2024.

The nominations of the four ODM leaders to the government have widened the cracks in the opposition coalition, with a section of affiliate party leaders promising a fight.

On July 24, 2024, Jubilee party secretary-general Jeremiah Kioni said “It is always darkest before the dawn.”

Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua who was the running-mate for Raila Odinga in the 2022 general elections promised a fight.

“Let every person stand by the courage of their convictions #AlutaContinua,” Karua said.

Kalonzo has remained adamant about joining the government, instead calling for the resignation of Ruto.

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