Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma has warned his Embakasi East counterpart, Babu Owino, against quitting the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party for former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's camp.
Kaluma, on Thursday morning, cautioned Babu that leaving ODM for Gachagua's Democracy or the Citizens' Party (DCP) would weaken his political influence, particularly in Nairobi County.
According to the Homa Bay Town legislator, Gachagua's camp was a toxic opposition movement that would immensely hamper Owino's political reputation.
He noted that the controversial decision would have dire consequences and diminish the Embakasi East MP's chances of clinching the Nairobi gubernatorial race in the 2027 polls.
"Babu Owino, leaving Baba for Gachagua and his hateful group will be your shortest political walk to oblivion. Retrace your steps back to Raila Odinga and ODM," Kaluma commented.
Kaluma's sentiments come hours after Babu Owino lamented being sidelined by ODM affairs despite being a loyal member of the party.
Speaking during an interview on Kameme FM, the lawmaker revealed that he had made peace with the fact that he would not be able to get ODM party leader Raila Odinga's endorsement for the Nairobi gubernatorial position.
Owino revealed that Raila's body language indicated that his preferred candidate was not him but Governor Johnson Sakaja.
"I cannot be given an ODM party ticket. You saw at Bomas how Governor Sakaja was endorsed by the ODM party and by Raila Odinga himself," Babu Owino said.
He went on to add, "I cannot be given the ODM party ticket, but what I can do is respect Raila as my father. The party ticket will be given to Sakaja, but my party ticket is in the hands of God."
During the interview, the Embakasi East MP also weighed in on the botched impeachment of Sakaja, accusing President William Ruto of interfering with the governor's removal from office.
According to Owino, Sakaja's leadership was a betrayal of the people of Nairobi, and the decision to grant him more time to fix the county would only do more harm than good to the residents.
