NAIROBI, Kenya – Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has reaped big from President William Ruto’s recent Cabinet nominations.
Raila has appeared to blow hot and cold on his new truce with President Ruto, believed to have been mediated by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo following widespread anti-government protests.
On Wednesday, Ruto nominated ODM deputy party leaders Ali Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya to his Cabinet.
If approved by Parliament, Joho will take over the Mining docket while Oparanya will be in charge of the Cooperatives Ministry.
Other Raila’s allies who have been nominate to the Cabinet include ODM national chairman John Mbadi (National Treasury), and National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi (Energy).
“I am still working on other pending nominees,” Ruto said during an address to the nation.
Raila has particularly felt uneasy about efforts by President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party to make forays into his political stronghold in the former Nyanza Province by luring several MPs elected on the tickets of ODM to shift loyalty.
But since declaring his candidacy for the Africa Union Commission chairmanship in February 2025, the opposition leader has largely toned down his anti-government rhetoric, only occasionally coming out to try to dispel speculation that his interest in the Addis Ababa-based office meant he was retiring from local politics.
Some of President Ruto’s political allies have been less restrained in their response to Raila’s attack on the head of state, warning the opposition leader that he risks losing the president’s support for his continental job ambitions.
With the election for the AUC chairman’s post still seven months away, there might yet be more twists and turns in the relationship between the two Kenyan leaders.
