OPPOSITION chief Raila Odinga is determined to strike a consensus with his ODM troops and has won over a number of dissatisfied lawmakers regarding the proposed party leadership.
He chairs the party’s National Executive Council meeting today to set the stage for the larger National Governing Council assembly on Friday, where the proposed line-up will either be approved or shot down.
The Star has established that the former Prime Minister has convinced a number of reluctant lawmakers to support the list, following a series of private consultations with the discontented leaders.
Suna East MP Junet Mohammed and Busia Women’s representative Florence Mutua, who had vehemently opposed the line-up, have since changed their minds.
“We had very serious consultations with Jakom and I will now support the list fully,” Junet told the Star yesterday.
Mutua also said she has now decided to take up her position as ODM’s deputy organising secretary, but pleaded with the party leadership to accommodate Funyula MP Paul Otuoma, whom she described as the “strongest pillar of Busia County”.
“We must now move forward from internal rivalries. We must put pressure on the failing Jubilee government to deliver and to have Chirchir sacked,” she stated.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir is embroiled in the “chicken” printing procurement scam allegations coming out of a UK investigation and courtroom.
Sources indicated that legislators from Nyanza, including Siaya Senator James Orengo and Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo, could similarly throw their weight behind the controversial list.
The change of mind started after Raila publicly endorsed the line-up during the burial of Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang’.
He told a huge crowd he had injected new energy into bringing on board the younger generation, the self-styled ‘Young Turks’.
“If Ababu and Mbadi work together, wouldn’t the movement be strong?” he asked the crowed of mourners, who roared back, “Yes”.
Yesterday, ODM’s director of Communications Phillip Etale confirmed that today’s NEC will set the modalities for Friday’s meeting.
The revolt that had threatened to dismember ODM took the form of a regional supremacy contest, with influential politicians from Western and Nyanza ganging up to shoot down the Naivasha deal for sidelining them.
Those opposed to the list, led by Otuoma, are protesting that Raila has sacrificed party loyalty at the altar of rewarding rebels.
Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba, who has been proposed to take over as Secretary General, appears to be the target of many.
Sources indicated those opposed to Namwamba believe that his elevation to the powerful position will make him the Western Kenya regional political supremo.
In Nyanza, it is said that Orengo and Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, Raila’s first cousin, are silently sabotaging the new list as it could whittle down their influence in Luo Nyanza politics.
The two senior politicians were reportedly unhappy with the rewarding of youthful Suba MP John Mbadi (National Chiarman) and his Ugunja counterpart Opiyo Wandayi (Secretary for Political Affairs). These posts make them the only Luo Nyanza MPs with senior positions in the Orange party.
But in a statement to newsrooms yesterday, Head of Operations Coalition of ODM Lobbies David Ochola insisted that they want former Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim to take over as Secretary General.
Ochola is adamant that Ababu’s commitment to ODM is questionable.
“Ababu Namwamba believes that he is the only face of re-branding, restructuring and rejuvenating ODM. He falsely believes that, without him, the party, which he deserted a long time ago, can’t be re-branded – which is wrong,” he stated.
ODM Leader Raila Odinga Wins Over Rebel MPs
