By Anderson Ojwang
The appointment of John Mbadi as the Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury was not a walk in the park.
It was the most difficult for President William Ruto and the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
For President Ruto, he had put his foot down to end decades of marginalisation of the Luo community from assuming the coveted seat.
And for Raila, he was known as a man who never reneges on his promise and wanted to meet part of his bargain.
Hard moment
President Ruto said the appointment of the CS for Treasury was the only instance during the formation of the broad-based government that he defied Raila.
“I remember very well that Raila Odinga had a different opinion on who should be the Minister of Finance. I remember I told him that ‘my brother, if there is one place I will defy you, it is that I am going to appoint a person from Luo Nyanza to be the first Minister of Finance,'” he said.
President Ruto said this was meant to correct the negative profiling of a whole community that they don’t care about property and that property belongs to some people.
“Listen, good people, it is also the same reason why I have made the decision that development in Kenya is never going to be done again on account of which citizen has voted in which direction,” he said.
Raila’s pre-election cabinet
Ahead of the 2022 general elections, Raila announced the list of some of his preferred cabinet members. On the list for Cabinet Secretary was Wycliff Oparanya, then Governor of Kakamega. Oparanya was also the deputy party leader of ODM and a key pillar in Raila’s campaign.
So when Raila lost the elections, Oparanya and other cabinet ministers Raila had announced were left without portfolios.
So Raila was committed to handing over the position to Oparanya in the broad-based arrangement.
Wako and Luhya pressure
Former Busia Senator Amos Wako led Luhya elders, professionals, and politicians to pressure Raila to make good on his promise.
Raila found himself in a difficult situation over the cabinet position as Wako and his team never gave him a chance.
Mama Ida Odinga, Raphael Tuju and Junet Mohammed
The trio of Mama Ida Odinga, Raphael Tuju, and the Minority Leader in the National Assembly, Junet Mohammed, scuttled any move to take away the position from Luo Nyanza.
Multiple sources told Western Insight that the trio applied pressure on Raila to accept the appointment of Mbadi as the Finance Minister.
“The trio did not want to hear anything about Oparanya as CS for Treasury. It was like a bloodless coup to have Mbadi appointed. The pressure from Wako and his team was not small, but the trio never budged,” said the sources.
The seven-hour night meeting
At a hotel in Karen, Oparanya, Tuju, Ida, and Junet held a seven-hour meeting. The meeting, which started shortly after 6.00 pm and ended at 1.00 am, was a marathon and tiring affair.
The trio had to do everything to convince Oparanya to drop his demand for the CS Treasury.
“It took us seven hours to convince Oparanya. We burned the midnight oil, and finally, we had white smoke. We drank kettles of tea that night. We ate samosas and chicken wings as we tried to broker a truce,” said our sources.
After a marathon consultative meeting, Oparanya agreed to settle for the CS Energy portfolio, and that is how Mbadi landed the seat.
Oburu
The team then invited Dr Oburu Oginga to the camp so that he could ratify the resolution.
The members feared that if the proposal did not have Oburu’s support, he would scuttle it.
Oburu aligned with the CS Treasury proposal and went ahead to put additional pressure on Raila.
The Energy docket
But Oparanya swallowed the humble pie when the cabinet was announced, and the Energy portfolio went to Opiyo Wandayi while he settled for Cooperatives and MSMEs.
The whining Oparanya
Oparanya has been whining and threatening to defect from ODM to unite the Luhya community under one political umbrella.
Oparanya has been blowing hot and cold and has been critical of the ODM party.
Oparanya has been sending mixed signals within and without the government and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, which has not only baffled but left tongues wagging over what he could probably be up to and whether he is preparing for a presidential stab in the 2027 general elections.
Recently, Oparanya shocked the public with his revelation that selling President William Ruto’s second term was becoming difficult after ODM sacked its Secretary General Edwin Sifuna.
President Ruto expects Oparanya to lead his campaign in Western Kenya and other parts of the country, and such a statement undermines the campaigns and the re-election game plan.
“Kazi yetu ya kutafutia rais kura imekuwa ngumu. Ukienda mahali unaulizwa mbona Sifuna alifukuzwa (Our work to seek votes for the president is becoming very difficult. They are asking why did you chase away our son). Ukienda kwa bunge wanafukuza wengine (In parliament now they want to chase away others). Na hii ni kipindi cha lala salama (This is the dying minute). Hiyo itasaidia sisi? (How will that help?)” he said.
Hot and cold
Oparanya has been advocating for Luhya unity and even threatened to resign from the ODM party to front a common community political objective.
“Tunataka sisi wote tuwe pamoja wakati huu (We all want to be united at this moment). Kama mtu amekukosea, sema sorry (If someone has wronged you, ask for forgiveness). Ikifika 2027, tukaye chini tushiriane na tulize (In 2027, we can sit down and negotiate),” he said.
Oparanya has called on the Luhya political class to have one political vehicle to drive their agenda.
“Jirongo tried to unite the Luhya community. Whenever I met him, he would talk to me about Luhya unity. One day I asked him if I was the problem and impediment to the unity. Because I am in ODM, if I am the obstacle, I am ready to leave the party as the deputy party leader at that time to unite the community and form a single political party. We have three Luhyas who are party leaders of political parties: Eugene Wamalwa, Moses Wetang’ula, and Musalia, but he dissolved his party. These are the party leaders. Let me say this: I am ready to leave ODM to unite the Luhya community. I know if we come together, we are the sleeping giant in this country,” he said.
Luo to repay the support
Oparanya declared that the Luhya community was also looking for power and it was time the Luo community supported them.
“We have supported the late Raila Odinga with one heart. That support should not be taken for granted. Now it is our time. For all these years, Raila contested for the presidency, and we have been with him. Now they must look into it: what do those people from Western in ODM get? If they are not looking at the interests of Western, we tell them bye. We will have a meeting. Raila left us, and they have forgotten that we were close to Raila. We were leaders in that party. They are busy with their programmes of power, and they do not know that even we from Western want power,” he said.
Could Oparanya be preparing his exit strategy and finally have a stab at the presidency in the 2027 general elections, or is he repositioning himself for the altar of power negotiation?
And will President Ruto hold on to Oparanya despite his scaring and confusing statements to the public? Time will tell, whichever way.
