The meeting between President William Ruto and Members of Parliament (MPs) from Nyanza elected under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket has caused disquiet in the party.
Explanations by Langata MP Phelix Odiwour and his Bondo counterpart Gideon Ochanda on Tuesday, February 7, on why they met their party leader, Raila Odinga's rival did not sit well with other leaders.
Ochanda explained that the party read much into the meeting and that they met Ruto for the sake of the people of Nyanza.
“We are not rebelling against the party. We never talked about politics, but development; these are two different things and we will continue following our party,” Ochanda stated.
On his part, Jalang'o explained that he was keeping tabs with the President over promises he made on the construction of affordable houses and completion of a Technical and Vocational and Education Training (TVET) institution in Langata.
Nonetheless, their explanation did not sit well with the other leaders in the party who accused them of badly betraying the Azimio chief.
Party Communications Director Philip Etale stated that the party was not surprised by the MPs' actions and that some of them were never loyal to Raila and would eventually fold at a fee.
Some leaders in the party demanded disciplinary action. However, the leader of the Minority in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi asked the members not to demonise their colleagues.
Wandayi confirmed that the party would convene a parliamentary group meeting for stock-taking after which appropriate decisions would be made.
"Dewhipping any leader is not our agenda. We are not in the mood of punishing anyone. It is in order to take stock of the gains we have made and the possible losses we might have incurred since we went for the long recess,” he noted.
The Ugunja lawmaker also responded to calls by Azimio leaders to punish those who failed to attend the rallies and engagement forums.
“We have made it very clear that we want every Azimio MP to attend, of course, there might be cases that are beyond our control. . We can’t assume that all those not attending are rebelling,” Wandayi declared.
