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Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has pushed back against growing demands within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) regarding the country’s executive leadership, declaring that the office of the Deputy President is not vacant.
The political statement highlights rising internal friction within the broader ruling coalition architecture as strategic alignment for the 2027 General Election accelerates.
In a major political setback for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) within the broad-based government, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has firmly rejected demands for executive reshuffling, declaring that the office of the Deputy President is not vacant.
The pushback follows mounting pressure from the ODM brigade on President William Ruto to drop Deputy President Kithure Kindiki in favor of an ODM nominee ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Strategists within the opposition party have argued that a genuine broad-based partnership requires representation at the highest level of executive leadership, pointing to the running mate position as the ultimate test of power-sharing commitment.
However, Mudavadi’s intervention delivers a direct blow to those calculations. Defending the current constitutional setup, the Prime Cabinet Secretary emphasized that Deputy President Kindiki remains fully in office, discharging his mandate under valid constitutional timelines.
Mudavadi cautioned against premature political demands that risk unsettling institutional stability, insisting that governance focus should remain anchored on economic recovery and service delivery rather than speculative political horse-trading over public offices. The sharp rebuff highlights expanding fault lines inside the ruling broad-based arrangement.
While ODM seeks to leverage its strategic partnership to secure maximum influence ahead of upcoming electoral contests, key government figures maintain that foundational executive seats are off-limits for negotiation.
The confrontation leaves ODM facing a delicate political dilemma as it seeks to justify its working relationship with the executive without securing the premier ticket slot it coveted.
As ruling coalition allies consolidate their positions around the existing executive structure, the refusal to entertain changes to the Deputy President seat signals tough limits on ODM’s power-sharing ambitions.
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