Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed has explained why Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga was quickly installed as the ODM Party leader following the death of his brother Raila Odinga.
Speaking on Wednesday, January 22, Junet said the move was necessary to safeguard the ODM party’s stability and prevent internal turmoil.
“ODM is a small government. You’ve seen when a president dies, the vice president is normally sworn in even before the president’s body is taken to the mortuary. So ODM is another government. You can’t leave ODM hanging loose like that. Anything can happen,” Junet explained.
“ODM is not any other party; it’s not a joke. It’s an institution that governs this country on its own. So, when the leader dies, we don’t want commotions and fights here and there.”
The ODM MP also brushed aside concerns over Oburu’s age, citing examples that demonstrate advanced age is not a hindrance to effective 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,” Junet stated.
Further, the Suna East MP dismissed claims that ODM is positioning itself to be absorbed by the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
“Those are fake opinions because how do you give yourself to another party? You don’t need to swallow any party, when Jubilee swallowed other parties, and they swallowed 14 parties before the election of 2017, it turned up now becoming a shell.”
