Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto’s allies clashed on who should be President after the 2022 polls.
On one side, the Odinga team said the former Premier will salvage the country from high level poverty and corruption.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo poked holes on DP Ruto’s bottoms up approach in economy revival.
“You have been in the Presidency for ten years and you have done nothing. Why is it that you are now discovering what you never did in the past nine years?” Amollo posed.
Homa Bay woman representative Gladys Wanga said the country is tired of dreams that will never come true.
She called upon the Gusii region and Nyanza as a whole to give support to Raila in 2022 to liberate the country.
“Why does the DP team keep on selling us ideas that we cannot buy? We know that the DP has not demonstrated leadership and ability to change the status of this country for the years he has been in power,” Wanga said.
“Now his people are preaching to us about the miracles he will do when he becomes president. Stop taking us for fools.”
The leaders spoke on Monday at Nyamwanga Primary school grounds during the burial of ODM national treasurer Timothy Bosire’s wife Jane Bosire who died last week in Nairobi.
Other leaders who were at the funeral service included Governor Amos Nyaribo (Nyamira) Anyang Nyong’o (Kisumu) and James Ongwae (Kisii County).
Kisii Deputy governor Joash Maangi, Nyamira Woman representative Jerusha Momanyi and her Senate counterpart Okong’o Omogeni, East Africa Legislative Assembly MP Oburu Odinga among others were also present.
Siaya senator James Orengo, MPs Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango) Ben Momanyi (Borabu) Vincent Kemosi (West Mugirango) Speaker Moffat Teya, Busia speaker Bernard Wamalwa and a number of Mcas also attended.
On their side, Ruto’s allies led by West Mugirango MP Vincent Kemosi, North Mugirango’s Joash Nyamoko and South Mugirango’s Silvanus Osoro insisted that the bottom up approach formular of economy revival was the only solution to Kenya’s economic challenges.
They said the DP has a road map of implementing it once he becomes president.
They called upon Odinga to join hands with DP Ruto and support his presidential bid in the next year’s general election.
“We are sure if Raila supports DP Ruto for president, the country will have overcome the economic challenges.
The bottoms up approach by DP Ruto seeks to empower our country’s economy that is going astray,” said Kemosi.
Osoro said the country is tired of voting for a losing individual (read Odinga).
He said there was need to support the DP for they are assured of his Presidency.
“We cannot be investing in a party that keeps on losing in every election. We have been voting for the ODM candidate in the last three elections and he has been losing all through.
Let Raila support the DP in his presidential bid since we know he will never win any election,” Osoro said.
But Odinga allies told Osoro off.
They said Osoro should stop telling Kenyans about an economic idea that was impractical.
“We will not listen to lecturers by people who have been sleeping all along in power, only to come and start telling us about bottom up.
Only one man has a solution to the deplorable state our country is, and that is Raila Odinga,” Senator TJ Kajwan’g said.
Kisii senator Sam Ongeri told off the DP allies over their bottoms up narrative saying it would have worked immediately the DP got into office.
He told the team to stop lying to Kenyans on some narratives that cannot help.
“I am trying to understand what this bottom up means but I cannot connect it with our situation. Spare us these dramas that cannot take our country anywhere,” he said.
Prof Ongeri added that only the handshake between Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta that had brought this country this far.
