Sharp split in ODM leaves Raila Odinga exposed

By OSCAR OBONYO and JAMES MBAKA

For over two decades, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has held sway in the politics of Luo Nyanza and beyond. He is, however, for the first time staring at open dissent and the timing could not have been worse. Coming ahead of the party’s national elections due on February 28, the simmering protests have left the ODM leader exposed. While most MPs are grumbling quietly, former Public Service minister Dalmas Otieno has openly criticised Raila for what he claims is dictatorship within the party.

Dalmas has revealed how the former PM personally summoned and cautioned him against running for any seat in the party elections. Dalmas claimed Raila was imposing his favourites in the party leadership against the will of democracy: “The seats were supposed to be democratically contested because all people believe in fairness and they have faithfully worked for the party and blocking them from continuing to participate in party matters will cost us future victory.” Expressed interests However, ODM Executive Director Magerer Langat has since clarified that although Dalmas and a host of politicians from Luo Nyanza who have since quit the race expressed interest in the positions, neither had picked nomination papers. But two candidates for the position of national chairman – Funyula MP Paul Otuoma and his South Mugirango counterpart Manson Nyamweya – have defended efforts to give their party a national face. Noting that ODM is the party with the largest number of MPs in Parliament, Otuoma points out that Luo Nyanza region has barely 30 MPs: “From these figures alone, ODM is not a party confined to one region as it has a presence in every part of Kenya including perceived Jubilee strongholds like Meru. It is accordingly politically suicidal to overlook such an obvious advantage and shrink the party to a regional outfit.” Nyamweya on the other hand accuses MPs from Raila’s Luo Nyanza backyard of advancing their personal political interests at the expense of the former PM’s and the party’s: “It is not a secret that they are more concerned with having a friendly party secretariat, which they can manipulate to get direct party nominations ahead of the General Election as opposed to helping Raila win the presidency.” For the first time since joining elective politics in 1992, the former PM is out of Parliament. This has come with enormous challenges of playing the captain of a team, where he himself is not on the pitch. Ideally, for the first time after such a long period, he is politically weakened, a factor that has probably given room for dissent. Indeed signs of dissent were already visible following last year’s chaotic party primaries. In fact Raila’s elder brother, Dr Oburu Oginga, was caught up in the ugly drama and had to opt out of the gubernatorial race and be consoled with a parliamentary nomination slot. And history was registered in the process. Unlike other years where Raila’s party had a clean sweep in Luo Nyanza, this time around there are at least four MPs elected on other parties other than ODM. They include Ford-Kenya’s Olouch Alago (Kisumu Town-West), Jared K’Opiyo (Awendo) and Otieno K’Oyoo (Muhoroni) both of PDP.

There is also Omondi Mulwan (Alego-Usonga), who was elected on the ticket of former VP Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper party. Migori County Governor, Okoth Obado is also a non- ODM member having been elected on a PDP ticket. Nyanza factor Sources within the party attribute the current machinations in Luo Nyanza to efforts by the party leadership to give ODM a national outlook. In the neighbouring Luhyaland, where the party equally enjoys fervent support, there was a move to have former Speaker of National Assembly, Kenneth Marende, to take up the powerful seat of chairman. The move was persuaded by the fact that western region deserved a senior position and similarly the occupant of such seat needed to be a political heavyweight – the calibre of former Industrialisation minister, Henry Kosgey, the immediate former chairman. Marende fitted the bill and was even a better bet because he hails from the populous Kakamega County. But when he declined the offer, ODM operatives reportedly interested the County Governor, Wycliffe Oparanya in the seat. But Oparanya is said to have instead tried to “donate” first-term Butere MP, Tobosso for the position, a move that the party leadership flatly refused owing to the MP’s political inexperience. This is how the ODM scouts reportedly ended up with former Local Government minister, Otuoma. Besides Raila’s personal intervention, the mass withdrawal of Luo Nyanza MPs from the party race is also attributable to the fact that Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero finally reconciled with Raila. It had been anticipated that Kidero would run a spirited campaign with his own team in the polls, and probably bankroll some of the candidates. Suba MP John Mbadi has however quietly protested at the “political mob lynching” subjected to the Luo Nyanza MPs by members of the public, including from rival parties. Drawing a parallel with member parties of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), Mbadi notes that Ford-Kenya and Wiper Democratic Party, for instance, have appointed party whips from the same community as their party leaders. “I do not understand these sustained attacks against Luo MPs because this is the practice everywhere. Even as ODM and MPs from Luo Nyanza, we have also missed out on positions of leaders of minority in the Senate and National Assembly to Ford-Kenya and Wiper,” Mbadi said.

Meanwhile, The Standard on Sunday has reliably established that the party is working on a secret scheme for a power sharing formula to ensure the outcome reflects a national image. The move is aimed at addressing requirements for regional balance, gender and representation of youth and marginalised groups. Mbadi however told The Standard on Sunday that he willingly quit the race: “I have not been pressurised by Raila, in fact I met him once since he returned from South Africa over lunch a day after I had withdrawn my candidature.” Quit race Last Thursday Kidero also quit from the race but asserted that he would remain loyal to the party and support all its endeavours. “I have my reasons for withdrawing but the main one is that I want to give others a chance to vie for the post. You should not read a lot into it as I am still loyal to the party and will fully support it,” said Kidero who was interested in the party’s vice-chairmanship. ODM’s mandarins are said to be working on a possible arrangement where top seats will be distributed according to regions. The country has been clustered into the former 8 provinces to aid the new arrangement. The regions are Nairobi, Western, Coast, Nyanza, Central, Rift Valley, Eastern and North Eastern. The team is also proposing an equal sharing ratio of the ODM seats between women, youth and veteran and seasoned politicians. This is after it became clear that to ensure institutional memory and strength, the party needs a blend of both experienced and youthful leaders. Seats targeted for fairer sharing to ensure regional balance include that of party chairman, deputy party chairman, secretary general, deputy secretary general, organising secretary, deputy organising secretary, treasurer and assistant treasurer. Left out However, a source told The Standard on Sunday that Rift Valley has been left out of the 8 top positions because Magarer hails from the region. The team working on the arrangement proposes two seats allocated to Nairobi because of the city’s centrality and significance as the country’s political hotbed. Former political protagonists George Aladwa and Reuben Ndolo who hail from Nairobi are battling for the organizing secretary’s seat while nominated senator Elizabeth Ongoro is eying the secretary general’s seat. In the arrangement is a push to have Mombasa governor Hassan Joho take over the deputy party leader’s slot at the helm of the management of the Orange party. There is also the nominated Senator Agnes Zani, who is claimed to enjoy the support of Raila. Zani, who hails from Kwale County is eyeing the position of secretary general. Zani said she was on her own and that Raila was not supporting her as claimed. “I can confirm that I plunged into this race without any sponsorship or pressure from anyone including the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga,” she said. Talking to The Standard on Sunday from Paris France, Zani said she was not allied to any camp.

Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba, running for the Secretary General position, said he was disappointed with the mass exodus of aspirants from the race, saying that was diminishing democracy and party vibrancy. “Let us not attack one another because this is just a warm up match. The real game is coming and we need each other,” he said. Ababu observed that the party members do not need to break each other’s rib, arguing that the idea of aspirants stepping down has to stop because ODM is a national party that belongs to all Kenyans. “I am in the race till the end. This would be an opportunity to show the whole world that we do not only support democracy but we actually practice it,” he said. In the confidential talks, Luo Nyanza would get the vice chairperson’s position through Homa-Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang’, the only close ally of Raila from his backyard earmarked for a top position in the party leadership.