President William Samoei Ruto on Tuesday appointed Raila Odinga’s former chief campaigner Mr. Eliud Owalo to the highly coveted cabinet position.
The appointment of Mr. Owalo came as a surprise to many Kenyans since the majority expected that he would give preference to the former Migori governor Okoth Obado.
Those who rooted for Obado argued that he braved his way to campaign for Ruto in a politically charged environment at a time when everyone was rallying behind the Right Honorable Raila Amollo Odinga.
Besides, they opined that Okoth Obado was one of the most senior politicians in Nyanza having served as the Migori governor for the last ten years. Consequently, they felt that he would rank first amongst equals.
However, that was not the case as the president instead went for one Eliud Owalo and made him the cabinet secretary for the Information Communication and Technology (ICT), a post that was previously held by one Mr. Joe Mucheru.
Well, many reasons have now emerged why the president preferred Mr. Eliud owalo and not Mr. Okoth Obado. To begin with, the former made an unpopular move and joined Mr. Ruto a long time ago at a time when most politicians from the Luo Nyanza were still reluctant to oppose the usual political order. Put in another way, Owalo earned his place at Ruto’s camp when it mattered most unlike the likes of Hon. Obado who just crossed over to the deputy president’s side(then) a few months to the general elections.
Most importantly, president Ruto was keen on keeping his promises to his long time allies and there was no way he would settle on Okoth Obado at the expense of Mr. Eliud Owalo who had served under him for the longest time.
There are also those who argued that Okoth Obado has many court cases which made him not very suitable for such a position when the Lakeside region had many men and women that the Hustler could choose from.
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