ODM Party leader, Raila Odinga has found himself in a tight corner over the revenue standoff at the Senate.
Raila will be forced to persuade his Senators who counties stand to lose cash to adopt the proposal or risk losing his ties with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The highly debated formula also put the ODM leader in an awkward situation, having fashioned himself as the champion of devolution, at the center of which is the dispersal of more funds to the devolved government, more so those counties traditionally perceived as marginalized.
On the other side, Raila and his political brother President Uhuru have been the drivers of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), which champions fair and equitable resource sharing.
If Raila supports the formula he is likely to lose the Northern Frontier District to his political rival, Deputy President William Ruto. And any support for the formula from the counties from Rift could attract support for DP in the Mt Kenya region.
Majority Whip in the Senate said the vote must continue today, Monday without any further delay.
“If Raila supports the formula, he will lose the Coastal region where some counties are on the losing end. If his troops in Senate cause the new proposed formula to collapse, BBI being his baby may lose support in Mt.Kenya,” Kang’ata told a local daily.
“There will be no more adjournment, we shall bite the bullet,” Kang’ata said.
Kang’ata added that his side will reconsider the BBI should the government lose the vote.
Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo hit back at Kang’ata saying; “Kang’ata has been a big mistake, he should have said other things, and whatever he is eating I don’t understand.”
According to Mutula Jr., the formula was meant to finish the ODM leader politically outside his Nyanza stronghold.
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“While Nyanza is gaining, the coastal region is losing, all these are political bedrock of Raila. If these regions lose in the proposed formula, Raila also loses his political clout,” noted Kilonzo.
Kilonzo added that essentially, Raila’s support outside Nyanza is finished, but it cannot be the end of BBI, for politicians to be specific ODM and Nasa if the formula is passed, they lose entire Coastal region Ukambani and Maasai region, Kajiado and Narok.
Senator Kilonzo noted that the Tuesday vote will determine the 2022 elections and called for caution by the big political class.
