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| Wycliffe Oparanya with Raila Odinga |
The newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs,Wycliffe Oparanya, revealed that he did not seek a position in President William Ruto’s Cabinet. CS Wycliffe Oparanya claims that Raila Odinga submitted his name for a ministerial position without consulting him first. How did Oparanya get his CS job? Speaking on Monday, September 23, Oparanya stated that his first action upon learning of his nomination for a CS position was to contact Raila Odinga.
Unaware of how his name ended up on Ruto’s CS nomination list, he began explaining to Raila that he had no intention of working with the Kenya Kwanza regime. “I sent a message to Baba telling him that I did not agree to be a Cabinet Secretary in Ruto’s administration. Baba was in Dubai at that time,” Oparanya said. He added that this was when he realized Raila had presented his name to Ruto for a ministerial position without informing him or other ODM members nominated to Ruto’s Cabinet. “He knew I would reject the job if he told me.We were not consulted,”he added. Oparanya claimed he’d rather be a farmer than join govt
Earlier, the former Kakamega governor and staunch supporter of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) had vowed never to join the Kenya Kwanza government. In a statement posted on his X account on February 11, 2022, at 10:01 p.m., Oparanya reaffirmed his strong support for the ODM party. He stated that joining Kenya Kwanza was not an option for him, even if it were his only choice. He argued that he would prefer to resign from politics and go home and be a farmer rather than be affiliated with the William Ruto-led entity. The statement resurfaced shortly after Oparanya, was nominated to serve in Ruto’s government as Cabinet secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs.
by Faith Chandianya
