
Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has affirmed his unwavering support for President William Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza administration.
Previously a senior member of the opposition, Wandayi acknowledges that his role has evolved since his appointment to the Executive, and he cannot be expected to act as he did before.
“There is a time for everything. I was in Parliament leading the minority troops and I had a Constitutional duty to oversight the Executive. I did so to the best of my ability. Now I am wearing a totally different hat. I am now a Cabinet Secretary. In my new role, I am executing government policy,” he stated.
During an interview with Citizen TV on Monday night, Wandayi clarified that his responsibilities as a Cabinet Secretary involve implementing government agenda rather than critiquing the administration from within.
“When I was in Parliament as a Minority leader, I was playing my role of oversighting the Executive. Now I am a member of the Executive, you don’t expect me to oversight myself. To expect me to criticize the same executive that I serve in, is to expect me to criticize myself. That will defy logic,” he explained.
Wandayi characterised it as a peculiar situation for someone to criticize the government they are part of, noting that it is a phenomenon unique to Kenya. This was in response to questions about the positions taken by some of his Cabinet colleagues, such as CS Public Service Justin Muturi.
In defending his current position and stance on the Kenya Kwanza administration, Wandayi revealed that he is now privy to information he was previously unaware of, compelling him to support the government.
“There are a lot more things that I have come to know which I didn’t know before, like the very elaborate and progressive programmes to electrify the whole country. I couldn’t have known them when I was in the Minority. But now I know them and I am able to communicate them to the public” he said.
He insists that “there is no contradiction whatsoever in the role I previously played and in the role I am playing currently” as both are dedicated to serving the country.
By Eric Biegon