December 11, 2017, marked a significant day in Kenya's political history as Raila Odinga's swearing-in ceremony was on the verge of taking place. However, a secret call from the opposition leader to the Nasa secretariat led to the postponement of the event.
According to sources close to the information, Raila Odinga was supposed to be made the People's President by a selected bench of judges. However, his last-minute call to a group of Nasa leaders led to the unexpected postponement of the event.
ODM's executive director, Mr. Oduor Ong'wen, revealed that everything had been finalized, including invitations being sent to the media from Okoa Kenya, Nasa's office moments before the postponement announcement.
“Understand the dejection and I am in the same situation. As the organizing committee, we had gathered at Okoa Kenya to announce Mombasa as the venue,” Mr. Ong'wen wrote in a WhatsApp message to the Kenya Patriotic Movement group.
He added that Raila called the executive team for a meeting with other principals who brought them up to speed on the development and it was agreed that they should communicate the same to the public.
A statement by Nasa's co-principal, Musalia Mudavadi, later in the afternoon ruled out the swearing-in but affirmed that a later date had been set to launch the People's Assembly, which would be communicated in due time.
A follow-up statement by Salim Lone, Mr. Odinga's advisor, indicated that the postponement was reached due to the absence of Mr. Kalonzo Musyoka, who was in line to be Odinga's deputy president following his swearing-in.
The development signals a confusion in the opposition camp, with many now believing that the planned swearing-in will just remain a mystery after subsequent postponement. Critics argue that despite citing constitutionalism in the act, the opposition has developed cold feet following threats from the government.
