Suna East MP Junet Mohamed has explained why the ODM Party was quick to install Oburu Oginga as its new party leader after Raila Odinga’s death.
Speaking on Wednesday, January 21, the MP said ODM could not afford to delay in appointing a chairperson because it must always remain functional and organized.
“We were quick to install Oburu Odinga as party chair because ODM is a small government, you can’t leave it hanging; anything can happen. It is an institution that governs this country,” he said.
At the same time, Junet dismissed concerns about Oburu’s age, pointing out examples that show advanced age is not a barrier to leadership.
“Oburu Odinga is just 82 years old; he can still be president. In Zambia, Mutharika was recently elected at 85, and Paul Biya is 92, and both are running their countries,” he added.
Reflecting on the 2022 elections, Junet said he did not misuse campaign funds and expressed frustration that Raila’s loss was partly due to the nature of support he received from the outgoing government.
“I didn’t take agents’ money. If Baba won the election, I would be a big man in this country. Baba lost the elections because Uhuru was campaigning for him from State House instead of engaging with people on the ground,” he further said.
Junet further revealed that even some senior government figures had privately warned him that Raila would lose to William Ruto, and he regretted that the campaign was tied too closely to the government.
“There were senior people in government who told me that in a contest between Raila and Ruto, Raila would lose, yet these were the very people we were relying on. I just wish we had run that election without associating with the government; it was just baggage that we carried,” he noted.
On the broad-based government, Junet said the party intends to remain in the arrangement until 2027 while laying the groundwork for future political alliances.
“ODM will be in a broad-based gov’t until 2027, & that’s why, as a party, we have already started negotiations for 2027, beginning with UDA. If we don’t reach an agreement, we will engage with other parties,” he stated.
Further, Junet expressed optimism about Kenya’s economic outlook, countering fears of debt default and urging citizens to remain hopeful.
“The country and the economy is doing well. After the election, people thought the government would default on debt payments, but it has performed well because the economy is growing at 5 percent and inflation is single-digit. Therefore, we should have hope in our country and not despair,” he said.
This comes a day after DCP Deputy Leader Cleophas Malala sensationally claimed that Junet secretly worked with Ruto’s camp during the 2022 General Election.
Speaking on Tuesday, January 20, Malala claimed that when Ruto was running against Raila, Junet would brief him on everything within the ODM Party.
“The other day, you saw Edwin Sifuna saying that Junet Mohammed ate money meant for agents. I want to confirm that here, in this interview today. I was William Ruto’s right-hand man. We were in UDA. At night, Junet used to come to see William Ruto and brief him on everything,” he said.
Malala went on to allege that Junet supplied Ruto’s team with sensitive operational details about ODM’s grassroots structures.
“We even had a list of ODM agents across the country. We knew who was going to be an ODM agent in which place, courtesy of Junet. That guy started betraying Baba when he was still alive,” he added.
