ODM officials from Narok County have condemned former cabinet minister William ole Ntimama’s planned defection to TNA, saying it was embarrassing to the party and the Maasai community.
ODM officials from Narok County have disowned former cabinet minister William ole Ntimama’s planned defection to TNA President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party together with other Maa leaders would have left the community divided.
ODM branch chairman, Jackson Ole Kamuye, party treasurer Joseph ole Karia and county women league chairperson Mary Simat said the former Narok North MP was misled by an organised cartel of power brokers and self-seekers who wanted to use him to achieve their own selfish ends in the Jubilee administration.
“The Maasai community is in ODM, and we are here to stay, what Mr Ntimama did was not on behalf of the Maasai community but for his own self and a section people surrounding him,’ said Mr Karia said at a press conference in Narok.
Mr Karia claimed that Mr Ntimama is being misled to move out of ODM because of his age and never consulted with the branch executive officials neither with the Maasai to claim they are leading the community to the Jubilee coalition.
On her part, Ms Simat said the move to go and see the President was not all inclusive and the 20 elders and some university students picked from Nairobi just to fill the defection band wagon.
“The President doesn’t want middle men to reach out to the Maasai community, there are elected leaders who he can consult with, and not power brokers” she said.
Mr Ntimama was to lead a group of Narok elders into ditching ODM to join TNA at State House in Nairobi on Tuesday.
However, President Kenyatta cancelled the meeting, with sources in the Jubilee Coalition saying he was uneasy about meeting the delegation to avoid cracks in the United Republican Party (URP) and TNA parties.
Majority of the elected leaders in Narok County are members of Deputy President William Ruto’s party, URP, with only one elected under TNA.
Mr Ntimama and at least 20 elders from Narok, who included former assistant minister John Keen and former Transport Licensing Board chairman Hassan ole Kamwaro had already assembled in Nairobi ready for the State House talks when the news of the postponement of the meeting were delivered.
Contacted for comment, Mr Ntimama argued that the meeting was postponed for further consultations and to include more leaders and more members from the community.
Source-nation.co.ke
