'Mind your lane': CS Ruku tells Oburu to back off over DP seat push

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku. [File,Standard] Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has told Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Oburu Odinga to stop demanding the Deputy President's seat, warning his persistence risks breaking the broad-based government. "Oburu, you are now becoming vexatious. You are getting on our nerves," said Ruku during a service at Full Gospel Church Kathonki in Mbeere North on Sunday. "By continuously making demands for the Deputy President's position as if it is vacant and disregarding our son Prof Kithure Kindiki, you are annoying us," he added. Ruku told Oburu that President William Ruto and Deputy President Kindiki are working well and should be left alone. "If it is working, don't fix it. We are telling him that we will protect our son by all means. Even if we are in the broad-based government, we must work with respect and desist from annoying each other unnecessarily." Ruku's remarks come days after Oburu made a U-turn on his earlier position. On February 2, during the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) funds launch in Kisumu, Oburu stood beside Ruto and Kindiki and assured the DP: "Do not think we want your seat and chase you. You are our friend." Ten days later, at an ODM National Executive Committee meeting in Mombasa on February 12, Oburu reversed course. "That Deputy President seat is what we are targeting very strongly," he told party delegates, arguing that ODM's nationwide support entitles it to a powerful position in any coalition with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA). At a consultative meeting at the Siaya County Assembly chambers, Oburu doubled down. "We are going to negotiate hard, we won't leave anything out," he said, adding, "Whether it's disturbing some people or catching others on the wrong side, that is not our worry." Ruku is not alone in the pushback. Speaking in Embu on February 13, he had already told ODM to wait its turn. "Professor Kithure Kindiki is the Deputy President now. He is the one who will remain DP in 2027 and serve up to 2032," he noted. "If ODM wants the Deputy President's seat, we can give it to them in 2032, when Kindiki will be President of the Republic of Kenya." Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki called ODM's bid a dream, noting the party lacks the numbers to back its demands. "As much as we are in a broad-based government, the seat of the Deputy President is non-negotiable," said Njuki. Speaking at Kariene market in Meru on February 15, Kindiki told supporters to ignore the political noise. "Msibabaishwe na ile mambo kidogo kidogo ambayo mnaskia hapa na pale. Sisi ndio mafundi wa siasa, my friend," he noted.

'Mind your lane': CS Ruku tells Oburu to back off over DP seat push

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'Mind your lane': CS Ruku tells Oburu to back off over DP seat push

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