State House on Tuesday, February 7, retracted a tweet it had earlier shared stating that Members of Parliament (MPs) affiliated to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) that met President William Ruto had pledged to support the government.
In the tweet, the house on the hill stated that the leaders from the opposition wing held a meeting with the Head of State and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to explore mechanisms of working together to address national and county issues.
However, a few minutes after publishing the tweet, the State House deleted the statement replacing it with a toned-down version.
“ODM Members of Parliament pledge support for the government,” the deleted tweet published by State House read in part.
The detailed tweet explained the President's meeting with a section of MPs from Azimio party leader Raila Odinga's Nyanza region.
According to the deleted statement from State House, the meeting was aimed at exploring a mechanism of collaboration between the ruling party and opposition MPs to address both national and county issues.
However, the tweet was replaced by another that read "President holds consultative meeting with ODM MPs" in what is considered a toned-down version of the original statement.
“President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, on Tuesday held a meeting with a section of MPs from Nyanza as a follow-up to his recent tour of the region,” State House clarified.
Among the politicians who attended the meeting with included Phelix Odiwour, popularly known as Jalang'o from Lang'ata Constituency, Mark Nyamita (Uriri), Tom Ojienda (Kisumu), Shakeel Shabir (Independent - Kisumu Town East), Caroli Omondi (Suba South), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem) and Gideon Ochanda (Bondo).
In addition, Ruto affirmed that the essence of the meeting was to enable cooperation from all leaders necessary to solve the country's challenges.
Moreover, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) responded to the visit by a section of the MPs stating that the meeting did not come as a surprise adding that the party had been monitoring the leaders.
“We want to inform our members and supporters that our quest for the restoration of our stolen victory and provision of good leadership to Kenyans will not be deterred.
“The visit to State House this morning by a section of ODM members of Parliament has not come as a surprise to the party and the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya movement," read a statement from ODM.
The party further maintained that the movement by Azimio Leader Raila Odinga could not be stopped and galvanised its supporters to attend a political rally on Friday, February 10, 2023 in Mavoko.
