Oburu cautions Raila to tread carefully on Jubilee graft war

East African Legislative Assembly MP Oburu Oginga.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga should withdraw his support for President Uhuru Kenyatta and distance himself from the handshake if the Jubilee government is unable to tame corruption, his elder brother Oburu Oginga has said. 

Dr Oburu, who brokered the handshake on March 9, 2018 told the Opposition chief that he risks soiling his anti-graft credentials if he continued to support the Jubilee administration perceived to be ineffective in the graft war.

“The corruption war should be sustained and if there any signs of reluctance to continue with the war on graft when it was the cardinal principles of the handshake then i do not think he (Raila) should be comfortable staying in the arrangement,” he said.

Undertaken strictly

The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) MP spoke days after the president’s State of The Nation address where he cautioned that the war on corruption would be undertaken strictly within the law and “not through vigilante justice and pitchfork protest.”

There have been calls to the president to act on government officials linked to corruption allegations. A number of senior government officials have been questioned and some taken to court on charges of corruption.

Recently, four Cabinet Secretaries Peter Munya (Trade), Henry Rotich (National Treasury), Eugene Wamalwa (Devolution) and Mwangi Kiunjuri (Agriculture) were questioned over their role on the Kimwarer and Arror dam projects.

Allies of Deputy President William Ruto have however questioned the war on graft claiming that it was skewed towards influencing the 2022 succession politics.

In an interview with Sunday Standard, Oburu, said that he was not aware if Raila was considering withdrawing from the newfound relations with Kenyatta after the handshake.

“I do not know if he has such thinking. I have not consulted him, he is the one who did the handshake and he is the only one who can consider withdrawing,” said Mr Oginga.

He however admitted that he was in no position to force his brother to reconsider his working relationship with the President, but he could only advise him.

“Raila would be the one to make the final decision, on withdrawing or not. I can only advise him, but if he refuses then it is up to him, but he needs to be careful with his image,” said the Eala MP.

Oburu expressed frustrations that although investigations on corruption had been launched action was taking too long to comeforth.

He also said that he would be unhappy if Raila stayed an extra day in a set up where war on corruption was relaxed and condoned in President Kenyatta’s government.

“If he continues to stay in an environment where corruption is sustained and condoned, in an arrangement where corruption is abetted and entertained, it will not be good for his personal image,” he said. He noted that the president had however shown some resolve and done his best though he was not sure if Kenyatta’s best was good enough. “Let us give him a chance and see how far it goes, I do not think Raila’s image so far been hurt and time is the best teacher,” he said.

On the issue of the ‘controversial statement’ by the Senate minority leader James Orengo that there was a pact between Kenyatta and Raila on the 2022 polls, Oburu warned that there was need for consultations before Orengo went public with such statements.

Impeach Ruto

The Siaya Senator also said that he was working on a motion to impeach Ruto over claims of graft an issue that has caused furore in the party.

“Orengo is seen as a close ally of Raila, so every statement he makes can easily be misconstrued to mean that it has the party leader’s blessings, though he has freedom of speech, he should consult to avoid being misunderstood,” Oburu said.

He took a swipe at the Deputy President William Ruto for defending suspects linked to corruption.

“Why I fault the DP is because I have not heard his name in the corruption allegations but every time he comes to defend those who have been implicated, he needs to let the corrupt carry their on cross,” the Eala MP said.