The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) addressed a viral video featuring former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who was seen criticizing National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.
In a statement released on Tuesday, October 29, ODM’s Director of Communications, Philip Etale, confirmed that the video in question is from 2023.
“The video circulating of Raila Odinga discussing the Speaker is an old recording from the funeral of the late Hon. Lawrence Sifuna in 2023. Please disregard it,” Etale clarified.
In the video, Odinga expresses concerns about the National Assembly‘s impartiality and suggests that Wetangula, as a party leader, is unable to fulfill his role neutrally.
“A Speaker should be impartial and nonpartisan. You cannot effectively preside over Parliament while being the leader of a political party.
If he wants to be a true Speaker, he should resign from his position in FORD Kenya,” Odinga remarked at the funeral.
Additionally, Odinga alleged that Wetangula has been influenced by State House directives, passing legislation without considering opposition viewpoints.
Fact-checking by the Kenya Times confirmed that the video was indeed filmed during the funeral of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s father, Lawrence Sifuna, on December 16, 2023.
Despite the video’s age, reactions from the public varied.
A social media user, Cornelius Ronoh, pointed out that the core message remains relevant, asserting that the Speaker continues to display bias, regardless of Odinga’s involvement in President Ruto’s government.
Another user echoed this sentiment, stating, “What has changed? If it was wrong then, it’s still wrong now.
Let’s stop this inconsistency driven by self-interest.”
A different commentator remarked, “So, Phillip, does Raila no longer believe that Parliament should have an impartial Speaker? That’s quite revealing.”
