Statement by the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, Prime Minister, on Hon. Fred Gumo's Retirement from Politics

Fred Gumo could have easily sailed through to win any seat in Nairobi he wanted. Instead, in another expression of his far-sighted commitment to ODM and Kenya, he has chosen to devote his wisdom and energy to ensuring that our coalition wins this election and forms a government that will change people’s lives.

I want to pay great tribute to Hon. Fred Gumo for this selfless decision, and for the dedicated service he has rendered to our country during his long political career. He is leaving politics at the very peak of his career, having accomplished all he wanted to. This is the kind of legacy all Kenyans should seek to leave behind them.

Hon. Gumo was a master politician who was always in touch with the grassroots. That is how he managed to build his career in Nairobi, where he served all Kenyans irrespective of their ethnic background. That is how Fred Gumo will always be remembered.
 
Kaa Ngumu Fred!
 
I also want to pay tribute to Franklin Bett, the Minister for Roads, who has taken a break from elective politics to dedicate his energies at the national level to ensure that ODM wins the elections. A sincere and consistent man of great principle who always put the nation first, Bett left the Moi administration and joined the Narc struggle to put in place an accountable and dynamic government which would improve people’s lives. After Narc’s break-up, he knew ODM was where leaders who pushed the nation first belonged.

ODM and I will miss the active day to day engagement of both these ministers. But we have in the two the core of a new group of wise and independent elders who will guide the CORD government to deliver much better lives for Kenyans in every part of the Republic.

Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga
Prime Minister
16 January 2013