Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has criticised former Prime Minister Raila Odinga over claims of endorsing Johnson Sakaja for the Nairobi Gubernatorial seat in 2027.
Addressing the press on Thursday, January 16, Babu Owino lamented, claiming that his efforts were not appreciated despite his loyalty to the former opposition leader.
While questioning Odinga’s decision, the vocal lawmaker revealed that Governor Sakaja had never supported Raila’s political career since 2007 when Odinga vied for the presidency up to 2022.
According to him, Sakaja’s current support for Odinga’s ambition for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson seat was just a political gimmick.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino addresses Azimio supporters during a rally in Utawala on Sunday, December 4, 2022.
Raila Odinga
“He has never wanted Raila Odinga, he wanted Kibaki, he wanted Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and 2017 and wanted William Ruto in 2022, this is a person who is not coming with clean hands,” Babu Owino said.
“This is a person who does not love Raila, he has never sacrificed anything for him, even going to Ethiopia is just a gimmick, so Raila should know better,” he added.
Expressing his frustrations over Raila’s current close ties with Sakaja, the former University of Nairobi (UoN) student leader advised Odinga to reconsider his decision and support him instead.
The lawmaker went ahead to take a swipe at Sakaja over his current style of leadership, claiming that the latter had failed to deliver on his mandate as the Nairobi Governor.
“Not even Kidero did the worst thing Sakaja has done, not even Mike Sonko. Look at Nairobi the way things are, you cannot recover this. Nobody knows where the money collected from Nairobi city goes,” Babu Owino claimed.
It is not the first time the lawmaker has expressed his frustrations over the lack of support from the former Prime Minister and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
In December last year, Babu said he was ready to quit the opposition party over what he termed as constant criticism and threats from senior party members. His sentiments followed months after Odinga’s move to support President William Ruto’s administration.
“I was campaigning for Raila but I told him that I will not support a government that is unfair to the people of Kenya. I was told I have ‘grown horns’ and I will be chased away in 2027. I’m not afraid of being kicked out of ODM. Even if they chase me away from the party, is there a problem?” Babu Owino said.
Photo of Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino
Photo
Babu Owino