Opposition chief Raila Odinga is working to form a political alliance with his handshake counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022.
Speaking during an interview with KTN News, Siaya senator James Orengo, who is Raila’s close confident talked of a possible political power play that could see Raila and Uhuru in the same camp.
“ODM is going for political power, and when we are holding these meetings our eyes are set on 2022. The contestation for power is going to come from a formation with ODM in it and formation of Jubilee where Uhuru Kenyatta is playing a role,” he added.
ODM is already scheming how to capture power in 2022 and believe President Uhuru Kenyatta could play a role in a coalition with the Orange party.
His remarks came a year after the March 9, 2018 handshake that was cited by Deputy President William Ruto’s allies as the cause of Jubilee’s political fallout.
Dr Ruto’s allies have claimed the handshake was a scheme to block Ruto from succeeding Uhuru who is serving his second and final term.
They have also claimed that the president was not keen on retiring thus had struck a deal with Raila to amend that Constitution to create positions in the executive to accommodate the two of them – claims that Orengo dismissed.
There are already proposals for the creation of a powerful Prime Minister and two deputies and a single seven-year term presidency.
“We are not in Jubilee and we have to be cautious about discussing their issues. Right now, we are being blamed for rocking Jubilee. We don’t want to get into their issues. Let them have their space,” the legislator said.
Political gainHe accused Ruto’s camp of discrediting the fight against corruption for political gain. Orengo said he was supporting the handshake because Uhuru and Raila had committed to fighting corruption.
The senior counsel disclosed that he held a meeting with the Head of State, explaining that he was convinced Uhuru was committed in the war and senior state officers would soon face corruption charges.
“I spent four hours with Uhuru – me and him alone – and I was convinced that he means what he says about the fight against corruption,” he said.
He asked the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji to maintain the momentum and ignore the deputy president and his allies, who have acused the two of being used to fight political battles.
“If there is anything that motivated us to join the handshake is the commitment to fight corruption. Both the DCI and DPP have a lot of energy and they need support and qualified investigators,” Orengo said.
He maintained that Ruto should record a statement with investigators in connection with the dams scandal for issuing figures that conflicted those issued Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.