Siaya Senator and Majority leader James Orengo has revealed plans that Odm party is working with President Kenyatta to achieve its 2022 dreams.
After the much publicized handshake, ODM is now scheming its plans on how to capture power in 2022 and they believe that President Uhuru Kenyatta could play a role in a coalition with the Orange party.
In an interview with a local Television, Senate Minority Leader James Orengo confirmed that the party would field a presidential candidate in 2022.
The revelation came at a time the ruling Jubilee Party was involved in high octane political wrangles that have threatened to tear it apart.
In an interview, Mr Orengo was non committal on whether ODM leader Raila Odinga would be the flag-bearer. The Siaya lawmaker instead said the Opposition leader did not want to mix campaigns for presidency with the handshake and his role at the African Union.
“We are very well organised about 2022. ODM as a party will be on the ballot box in one shape or another, I can tell you that. But what I can tell you for purposes of Raila is that he is involved in an exercise that if mixed up with 2022 may work against his politics,” Orengo said. “If Raila was to put his campaign out there and at the same time be involved as an envoy and handshake, all that will not be good for his politics. He is very focused.”
Orengo also 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.
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.
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.
On electoral processes, Orengo said ODM had already listed key areas to monitor ahead of the next polls. This, he said, would help guard against vote rigging. The lawmaker said the party would monitor the forthcoming population census, because in the past it had been used to create imaginary numbers for election manipulation.
He also observed that the reason why the courts had failed to convict individuals in major graft claims could be because of poor evidence gathering by investigators.
The minority leader further talked about the simmering unease in the Senate over Speaker Ken Lusaka’s involvement in politics.He said senators had raised the matter with both Lusaka and National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.