Why Kisii DG Joash Maangi Has Ditched Ruto For Odinga

Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi has ditched Deputy President William Ruto for Raila Odinga as the 2022 politics hots up.

Maangi, who has been traversing the country with the DP’s team selling the bottom-up agenda, has been missing in the “husler” nation’s recent rallies.

He was conspicuously absent in Ruto’s tour of Nyaribari Masaba, Nyaribari Chache, Bobasi and Itibo Markets in Kisii on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.

He left tongues wagging on Friday when he attended Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja event held at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.

Read: Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi Summoned By EACC

In photos that went viral on social media, Maangi was seen sitting next to Rarieda Member of Parliament Otiende Amolo of ODM in the event where Odinga announced his bid for the presidency in the 2022 General Election.

None of the DP’s allies attended the event graced by Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s men who support the handshake duo.

Speaking to the Standard, Maangi said he was forced to defect to Odinga’s due to pressure from his constituents, as much as he would have loved to stay in Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.

Read Also: Kisii County DG Joash Maangi In Trouble Over Alleged Assault Of Female Worker In December 2019

He indicated he jumped the UDA ship for political survival.

“I have always been in ODM. You know what it means to be in ODM party in the Kisii region,” said the Deputy Governor.

The DG is hoping to succeed his boss James Ongwae whose second and final five-year term will come to an end in August next year.

Read Also: Raila Odinga Launches Azimio La Umoja Movement As He Declares Bid for the Presidency

The duo was elected on an ODM ticket in 2013.

His return to ODM could signal that he has patched up things with Ongwae and several senior politicians in the county allied to Odinga.

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