Coming of Age: Opiyo Wandayi Receives President Ruto at Parliament Ahead of State of Nation Address

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Minority Leader in the National Assembly Mr. Opiyo Wandayi in the company of Minority Whip Junet Mohammed received President Dr William Samoei Ruto at Parliament buildings yesterday ahead of his first State of the Nation address.

While many consider it Parliamentary protocol, it marked a critical departure from the 2016 State of the Nation speech when a whistleblowing Opiyo Wandayi had to be forcefully ejected from the August House protesting ineptitude of the Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta administration.

Since Kenyatta took office in April 2013, his administration had been plagued by corruption and mismanagement allegations surrounding the National Youth Service (NYS), job-creation programs and the port in Mombasa. At that time the Ugunja MP was a simple legislator with no forum to air his dissentions apart from heckling in Parliament. Yesterday he sat at the Speakers’ gallery, as a highly placed member of the legislature.

On Thursday the man who received President Ruto ahead of his State of the Nation address had come a long way and was a completely metamorphosed national leader.

Together with Wiper leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Mr. Wandayi had just concluded 73 days of leading the Azimio team in the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) which had stopped the country from fragmenting into warring factions.

From championing Ugunja Constituency development projects Mr. Wandayi is now addressing national issues focused on lowering the debilitating high cost of living.

As he rubs shoulders with distinguished leaders from various parties and of different political convictions Mr. Wandayi has maintained a cool head emerging as a sober force set for great things in the national political arena.

Being so close to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party leader, Raila Amollo Odinga, there’s no questioning that Wandayi was receiving President Ruto at Parliament buildings yesterday with the knowledge and blessings of the Azimio scion. That alone is a major indicator of what direction the politics of Raila succession and Luo Nyanza kingpin are bound to take in the coming days.