Suna East MP and National Assembly's Minority Leader Junet Mohammed, on Sunday, November 10, explained why Orange Democratic Party (ODM) MPs banded together to help the Kenya Kwanza Government eject Rigathi Gachagua from the deputy president seat.
Speaking during the Thanksgiving Ceremony of Homa Bay County Governor Gladys Wanga, Mohammed stated that once their colleagues across the Parliamentary aisle approached them for support in the impeachment, they considered the issue and decided that the accusations made against the former deputy president were legitimate and thus decided to answer to the plea and join their colleagues in the vote.
"Recently, people have been asking why ODM collaborated to unseat Gachagua. Gachagua is someone who had a foul mouth and he used to insult Baba. We told him that a day of consequence would come. If those people had not collaborated with ODM members in Parliament, they would not have ousted Gachagua,” Mohammed told the congregation.
“That means that ODM has a lot of power because UDA would not have removed Gachagua by themselves. They had to speak to us ODM members and we weighed in on the issue and decided he was someone who was useless and he needed to go.”
Barely a month ago on October 8, an astonishing 282 MPs voted in support of the motion to kick Gachagua out of his second-in-command position. The number brought together MPs affiliated with different parties including Gachagua’s own United Democratic Alliance and the opposition party, ODM.
In the lead-up to the ouster, a heated debate amongst the MPs ensued as they laid bare all the accusations against Gachagua including interference with the devolved units and tribalism.
Even before the vote was conducted, it became clear that most MPs, including those in the opposition party, would be voting with their UDA counterparts for the impeachment. Even though the initial MPs who appended their signatures in support of the motion totaled 291, Gachagua was ultimately kicked out by a vote of 282 to 44.
This decision was upheld by the Senate who voted 54 to 13 after a dramatic impeachment trial that reached its climax with Gachagua being taken ill in hospital just hours before he was impeached.
The revelation by Mohammed has not come as a surprise either, seeing as the ODM party has been taking up space in the Kenya Kwanza Government since the handshake that party leader Raila Odinga had with President Ruto in exchange for help with his Africa Union chairmanship.
When he reshuffled his cabinet in July following deadly anti-government protests, President Ruto notably included four heavyweights from the party to serve in his cabinet including Hassan Joho, Opiyo Wandayi, Wycliffe Oparanya, and John Mbadi.
However, ODM has since come out to deny claims that this means the government is working hand-in-hand with the government, maintaining that they would retain their oversight role as the opposition party.
“A narrative has been woven that ODM is desperate to join the government when all along we have been clear that what we seek is a national conversation," revealed the ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna in one of his addresses in July.
