Nyeri town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu has said he is not an ODM mole as claimed recently by some politicians led by Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua.
Wambugu said the claims were meant to undermine him, saying he is firmly in Jubilee Party.
“But it’s important to remember that being in ODM is not an insult. Many good Kenyans are in parties other than Jubilee and that’s not an insult,” he said.
Wambugu responded to the accusations through the social media yesterday.
He said many politicians in Jubilee were once in ODM.
He said most of his colleagues from Rift Valley region who are in Jubilee today were in ODM prior to 2007.
He named Deputy President William Ruto and Majority Leader Aden Duale as some of those who were in ODM.
Wambugu said he was then in the Party of National Unity (PNU).
“It’s also important to remember that not agreeing in the past doesn’t mean you can’t agree now. At one point President Uhuru ran against (former President Mwai) Kibaki, but that didn’t stop him from being Kibaki’s strongest supporter and defender afterwards,” he noted.
He said President Uhuru, who is the party leader of Jubilee, is now working closely with ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Wambugu emphasised on the need to unite and work together to build Kenya irrespective of party affiliations.
He said all 2022 campaigns are unfair to the public, who expect services from their leaders.
He was responding to Rigathi, who accused Wambugu of portraying Mt Kenya region as divided through his (Wambugu’s) social media posts on 2022 politics.
Rigathi alleged that Wambugu ignited and perpetuated the 2022 succession debate by claiming that Mt Kenya community owes no one in 2022 succession.
Wambugu added that the 2022 succession campaigns are against the President’s wishes and amounted to disrespecting him.
“We must stop these campaigns (though I see they have nearly completely stopped). Our focus at the moment must be on supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta to unite the country, fight corruption and implement the Big Four,” Wambugu wrote.
Early this year, DP Ruto criticised a section of Jubilee leaders for prematurely initiating the 2022 succession politics.
He was likely reacting to Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria who had said the Kikuyu community would back his Presidential ambition.
However, Nyeri MP Wambugu had differed with Kuria saying it was too early to discuss the 2022 succession.
But Ruto, via his Twitter account, said the Jubilee Party leaders should concentrate on service delivery to Kenyans instead of succession talks.
“Kenyans, more so Jubilee, should avoid useless political debates about positions including 2022,” he said.
Ruto said they should focus “single-mindedly on delivering their manifesto” which was voted for by the people.
The talks were escalated following the recent changes in the Cabinet, an issue the DP said was within the president’s mandate.
“And, for the record, the often-quoted post calling Uhuru/Ruto murderers is not from me; it’s from a fake twitter account that’s under @ngunjiriwambogu. (My account is @ngunjiriwambugu).”