<News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo
Kenya: The forthcoming ODM grass root and national election is likely to be dogged by controversies involving the current and the former MPs from Luo-Nyanza and their supporters.
The party elections are slated for November 22 and 24,but there are already signs and signals of serious split and disagreements among the interested parties.
The current Luo MPs want their rivals, particularly those whom they defeated during last year’s general election barred from contesting the party polls at all levels. The writing is already on the wall. The MP want their arch-rivals, particularly those who defected to other parties and contested the election proper after losing the elections during the party’s preliminaries.
Discontent is mounting in several constituencies where the former ODM political luminaries who lost their parliamentary seats in the December 2007 are said to be rearing to go and re-establish themselves politically in readiness for the 2012 general elections.
The issue has become a thorny one giving the Prime Minister Raila Odinga the sleepless nights as the war of attrition between the former Luo legislators and the current MPs escalates.
The current Luo MPs have introduced discriminative and shallow ideas questioning the loyalties of the former legislators, especially those who defected to the Charity Ngilu’s Narc party after losing to their opponents in the primary elections in the run up to last year’s general election. The MP are vocal that these gentlemen should be barred from contesting any elective post in the party unless they first renounced their new parties on whose tickets they had contested the election proper.
The former MPs have countered the question of loyalties to the party by arguing that even some of the current legislators had jumped on to the ODM bandwagon and won their parliamentary seats before renouncing their former parties, citing the Minister for Public Service Dalmas Otieno, the current Rongo ODM MP who contested the election on the party ticket before renouncing his long standing association with the former ruling KANU party.
Otieno, the argument goes, is still registered at the registrar of political parties at the Attorney General Chambers as the Second National Vice Chairman of KANU and has never renounced his old party members publicly. And the former legislator wonders why their rival are panicking so much.
Aware of the discontent, the party leader Raila Odinga made an extensive tour of Southern Nyanza over the weekend where he addressed a series of leaders meeting at Awendo, Homa-Bay and also paid homage to ODM stalwart in Nyaribari Chache Chris Bichage whose wife was buried last week.
At the meting at Awendo, MPs and host of civic leaders made it categorically clear that they were not comfortable with the former MPs who had defected to other parties. Presence at the meeting were John Pesa (Migori0, Cyprian Ojwang’ Omolo {Uriri } and Martin Ogindo{Rangwe}.
But the move and the reasons given by the legislators asking the party to lock out those who contested the election on other party tickets to be locked out of the forthcoming ODM elections is unpopular and unacceptable by the majority of party members in the region.
During ther general election three former MPs who include Archbishop Stephen Ondiek Oluoch {Ugenmya}, George Mbogoh Ochillo Ayacko {Rongo} and Eng Eric Opon Nyamunga{Nyando} contested the election proper on Charity Ngilu’s Narc party. Ngilu herself was copted into the ODM Pentagon, and was later appointed to the grand coalition government as the Minister for Water Development as pone among the twenty one ODM Ministers in the coalition.
Political pundits were quick in pointing out that the current Luo legislator have lost the direction. Their poor record of disbursement of the revolving CDF funds in Luo Nyanza is regrettable.
The animosity caused by the impending ODM elections in Luo-Nyanza is so intense and posing a serious threat to the party’s unity.
Information in our hands says that the current MPs and the civic leaders had petitioned Raila Odinga and other ODM bigwigs to ensure that only party loyalists are elected top run the ODM affairs right from the sub-location to the national levels. But party loyalists have protested against the idea of locking former party MP out.
The popular theory being advanced is that some of the former legislators have sacrificed their resources building ODM down from NDP, LDP to the ODM, while those who were now reaping the fruits of their sweats were serving other parties. The pundits have cited Dalmas Otieno, the Rongo MPs who for close to a decade had served KANU while issuing hostile public statements critical to the Odinga family and leadership, but who is now a senior cabinet Minister and part of the ODM team.
Through Raila in a true display of statesmanship had forgiven Dalmas Otieno, and even recommended his appointment to the ODM cabinet, the majority of party members in rural Nyanza want “Agwambo” to ignore the plea of the current MPs that their opponents be locked out of the party elections.
One of the areas most affected with the undercurrent political manoeuvres to have the former MP locked out of the ODM elections is Rongo, Homa-Bay, Uriri,Rarieda, Kisumu Town East,Nyakach, Nyando, Kasipul-Kabondo,Karachuonyo and Ndhiwa constituencies.
As Raila was meeting leaders at Awendo, the police in Homa-Bay are reported to have authored and distributed leaflets critical of the Ndhiwa MP Joshua Orwa Ojode.
Sources revealed that the youth was acting at the behest of a group of disgruntled politicians who lost their bid to capture the Ndhiwa parliamentary seat in 20907, and were out to antagonize Ojode who is an Assistant Minister in the Office of the President in the Ministry .Incharge of the Provincial Administration and Internal Security.
Pundits and observers are of the opinion that the current Luo MPs were reaping the fruits of the sweats of the former Luo legislator who had remained loyal to Mr. Odinga during the most difficult and trying times.
Some of the former legislators, the observers singled out the former Rangwe MP Eng. Phillip Okoth Okundi, and the former Nyando MP Erich Opon Nyamunga as those who had sacrificed their resources and contributed immensely towards the development of the ODM party at its infant. These gentlemen deserves a lot of respect and not insult.
And as the current MPs are busy harvesting where they never sowed any seeds, they should know pretty well that some of them were still political novices and mediocre. Until December 2007, they were politically non-entities and as such have no moral authority to ask the party to lock out anyone from contesting the party’s elective posts.
The Luo-Nyanza MPs, said the observers, need not to panic about their opponents, but should face the electorate and at the same articulate what agendas they have in the store for the community’s economic empowerment.
Of late dessenting voices have been heard blaming the current Luo MPs for spending moist of their valuable times dwelling on trivial issues such as the male circumcisions , an issue which many believes should not be the preoccupation of the MPs.
Poverty index in Luo-Nyanza is still the highest in the Republic of Kenya, and is the source of acts of political violence. The elected MPs need to address these issues instead of singing about the male circumcision.. This area of campaign has hit the rock, and many adult Luos are adamant not to part with their old tradition and culture.
Across section of interviewed adult Luos believes the male circumcision campaign is a misdirected and a waste of time and energy. Instead the leadership should chart for the way forward on how to generate wealth for the community members.
One elder in Oyugis was heard shouting on top of his voice after having one, two at a nearby pub, “Ok wadwar winjo wach nyangu” {loosely transilating we do not want to hear anything about male circumcision. This issue is rather trivial and lacked the foresight..
And what is strange, is that not even one single Luo MPs has been heard making contribution inside the House or outside about the economic empowerment, and even encouraging members of the community to take active part in fishing trade, though fish export has became on of the greatest assets fetching millions of shilling in foreign exchange for Kenya. Only the middlemen, most of whom are people of Somali origins, Indians and Kikuyu businessmen are involved in the export of fish or are acting as the middlemen reaping all the profits
Not even one MPs has spoken about the impassable roads in the interior part of the region, poor performance of students from the region at the national exams, poor return for sugar cane farmers and lack of manufacturing industries in Kisumu, the regions capital. All these taken into account, it became rather insult to tell Luos to prioritize male circumcision.
Luo elders from all the eight administrative districts of Suba, Migori, Rongo, Homa-Bay, Rachuonyo, Nyando, Kisumu East, Kisumu West, Raried and Siaya district are vehemently opposed to the attempt being made by young politicians to distort the community culture and tradition under the pretext of the alleged reduction of the spread of HIV/Aids.
They have cited countries like South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia where people are dying inn their thousands, and yet the communities there under go male circumcision.
At one time, Bomet was reported as the leading district in HIV/Aids outbreak, and at the other time Thika was the most dangerous spot under outbreak of the deadly virus..All the residents of the two district under go the male circumcisionm.
At Awendo the Prime Minister heaped a lot of praise on the former chairman of the Sony Sugar Board of Director Mr. Herbert Ojwang’ before the entire board members and leaders, saying he was a good performer and his friend for many years.
Ojwang’ resigned in huff citing political pressure and manipulation by a senior politician in the region who had plotted to have him removed to pave the way for his political surrogate to be appointed. Raila spoke before the entire board and the new chairman Mr. Charles Orony Ogalo. And Ojwang’ immediately handed over to his successor.
He also wondered why Sony sugar company has had so many CEOs as 10 in less than ten years and felt this does not augur well for the company, which has been ailing financially for years.
Ends.
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