ODM Threatens Boycott if Oparanya is Not Approved
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) issued a strong warning that it would reject the appointment of its officials to President William Ruto’s government if Wycliffe Oparanya, the former Kakamega Governor, was not approved by the National Assembly’s Appointment Committee, according to reports from Taifa Dijitali.
The committee spent four hours deliberating Oparanya’s appointment, with the session reportedly marked by intense debates.
Oparanya was ultimately confirmed as the Minister of Cooperatives.
Initially, the committee had planned to approve the report prepared by parliamentary staff, which recommended the approval of all appointees, in less than 30 minutes.
However, the committee then held a private session, during which the entire secretariat was removed, and the members discussed who would be rejected.
Although the ODM members of the committee were reported to have no objections to the appointees, they were unaware of the Kenya Kwanza side’s plans.
The government side believed that Stella Lang’at did not perform well during her interview and, therefore, did not deserve confirmation as Minister of Gender, Culture, Arts, and Heritage.
After presenting the committee’s report to the House, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah said, “Based on the results of the Appointment Committee’s second report, the House approves the confirmed appointees and rejects the appointment of Stella Lang’at.”
The Kenya Kwanza side had proposed rejecting Oparanya’s appointment due to issues with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The EACC had sent a letter to the National Assembly Clerk opposing Oparanya’s appointment, citing ongoing investigations into corruption, which Oparanya has denied.
“It was at this point that Junet Mohammed intervened, stating that the committee should include Oparanya among the approved appointees or ODM would withdraw from the ministerial positions allocated to it,” said an anonymous member of the team.
Mohammed did not respond to Taifa Dijitali’s inquiries regarding the incident.
The committee, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, approved the appointments, leading to the swearing-in of the confirmed officials on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
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