RAILA WANTS TO WORK WITH RUTO

Former prime minister Raila Odinga has opened up on the possibility of working with Deputy President William Ruto again.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader said he may make an alliance with the second in command if circumstances conspire.

Speaking to KTN News on Wednesday, December 16, Raila said he had no personal problem with Ruto and dismissed claims he sacked him from the grand coalition government over corruption allegations.

“We actually did not chase Ruto from ODM, he is the one who left the party. The investigation into the maize scandal was not in any way a personal issue. I just interdicted him after the investigations, I did not sack him.
“They say politics make strange bedfellows. So we have worked with Ruto before and if circumstances will conspire then I will have to work with him again,” he said.

Raila’s remarks came after ODM lost the Msambweni parliamentary seat to independent candidate Feisal Bader who was a former member of the outfit.

Bader, who was backed by Ruto, was declared the Member of Parliament elect by the Independent, Electoral and Boundaries Commission after garnering 15,251 votes to ODM Omar Boga’s 10,444.

Raila argued the loss did not mean the party was losing ground in the Coastal region where it bagged a majority of the seats in the last General Election.

“It is very wrong for someone to say that ODM is losing ground in the coast. There are so many factors to consider and the party will talk about it. Yes, ODM lost elections in Msambweni but that’s the game of elections, you win some and lose some,” Raila maintained.
Eliud Owalo, a former Raila aide, who has since decamped to Ruto’s team, had previously urged the African Union Infrastructure envoy to work with the former pentagon member to strengthen neighbourhood ahead of 2022.

Owalo who fell out with the ODM boss in 2019 and ran for the Kibra Parliamentary seat on Amani National Congress ticket said the Luo community must not carry all its eggs in one basket.

“It is important for Raila to work with Ruto, who remains ahead in most of the opinion polls conducted since March. We are urging him to work with Ruto to enhance good neighborhood between Luo and Kalenjin communities,” he said.

Sourced from Tuko