Kisumu 10/9/07
 
LUO MPS IN MAJOR PLOT HATCHED TO LOCK OUT NEW ASPIRANTS IN NYANZA AND DENY THEM ODM CLEARANCE

By Leo Odera Omolo

A TEAM OF Luo MPS are allegedly involved in a plot hatched during the campaign to lock out all new aspirants seeking for the ODM ticket to contest Parliamentary seats in various constituencies inside Luo Nyanza.

According to the team, which is lead by Mbita MP Gerald Otieno Kajwang, the group has planned for a series of meetings. oOe such meetings was held at Mbita Constituency where speakers, who included Bondo MP Oburu Odinga (Bondo), Otieno Kajwang (Mbita) Sammy Weya (Alego Usonga) and the discredited Ochillo Ayacko (Rongo)

They told the audience in Mbita that the ODM party would only issue its clearance certificates to the trusted party loyalists but not to anyone who could turn against it by crossing to the government benches in case the party lost the forthcoming December General Elections.

The next day the group held another public rally at Ranen Market in North and East Sakwa location in AwendoDivision,Rongo Constituency.

Dr.Oburu Odinga did not attend the Ranen meeting but Otieno Kajwang told the rally that he, as the officially appointed ODM Co-ordinator in Luo Nyanza will ensure that Ayacko is cleared to defend his Rongo seat by hooks and crocks..

In the Ranen rally, the local MP, who officially kicked off his re-election campaign allegedly revisited the controversial incident in which it is being alleged, he was caught red-handed when making love to Mrs Susan Kaunda, the Headmistress of Dede Girls High School within his constituency.

The MP, according to witnesses, told the rally that the husband of the Headmistress, who is also the Principle of Kanga High School Mr.Kaunda was drunk when he assaulted his wife.

But his remarks elicited prolonged uproar by the audience when he told the rally that if somebody is impotent and not satisfying his wife sexually, then there’s nothing wrong for others to assist or come in hand to supplement the love making!!.

These remarks, according to eyewitness, sent the crowd, particularly few women in attendance in shock and murmurs, because of obscene and unprintable utterances made by the youthful Rongo MP in the presence of his own young wife.

Other rumours making the rounds in Nyanza is that close to 21 MPS had unanimously and secretly agreed to raise KSH 10 million each using the CDF money. The money will be donated to the Raila Odinga presidential campaign kitty. The contributions would automatically qualify the donor to the nomination process without being challenged by any new aspirant. The opponents will be disqualified and locked out of the race.

But the information about the conspiracy to lock out new parliamentary hopefuls has spread like a bush fire reaching both the parliamentary hopefuls and the electorate alike with mixed reactions.

If the rumours about the plan hatched to lock out new parliamentary aspirants in favour of the sitting MP turns to be true, then it could have serious repercussions. It could work in adverse effect against Raila Odinga’s presidential ambition due to the fact that the perceived 100 per cent support that “Agwambo” is currently enjoying in Luo-Nyanza could evaporate and diminish.

The reason being that the current Luo MPs have become so hated by the community to an extent that giving them blind and blanket support by the ODM could spark off communal rebellion against Raila Odinga, should he insist that the party support only the sitting MPS for its tickets.

The majority of the current MPS, apart from Raphael Tuju (Rarieda), Orwa Ojode (Ndhiwa), Eng Erick Nyamunga (Nyando),Charles Oyugi Owino Jalikowa (Migori), Dr.Oburu Odinga (Bondo) Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyongo’ (Kisumu Rural) and Zaddok Syongo (Gwassi) are non performers. Only the above mentioned legislatures have done well in their respective constituencies. The rest are non-performers.

The legislators face myriad of accusations about their misuse and even non-use of the devolving CDF funds. In some places, there is not even one single project funded with CDF money. The money appeares to have disappeared in the thin air or gone into the pockets of the selected individual’s CDF dishing committee members. In some places the CDF money has made certain individuals become the overnight millionaire, especially the MPs surrogates or the sycophants and political surrogate of the MPs

Other unconfirmed rumours making the round have it that some millions of the CDF money are said to have been squandered in luxuries and women.

The popular rumour making the round is that all the aspirants wishing to stand against the current MPs would be short changed and denied clearance certificates even if some of them could beat the MPs during the party preliminary elections process and that the ODM nominations would not be transparent and fair.

Already there were newly invented propaganda network which depict non-MPs aspirants as agents of Narc-Kenya or President Kibaki political moles who are out to derail Raila Odinga’s presidential ambition. But the electorate everywhere are aware of the kind of pack of lies by the non-perfoming like MPs who have invented the propaganda in order to save their skin. No sane person or voter in Luo-Nyanza is going to buy this kind of cheap propaganda, therefore its repercussions could boomerang and work against all the outgoing Luo MPs

The two weekend rallies have already raised up political temperatures.

The rumours making the round is that the series of meetings or public rallies were called at Mbita and Ranen markets in order to salvage both Otieno Kajwang and Ochilo Ayacko whose popularity are said to be rapidly dwindling. It was also meant to depict the two leading preliminary contenders in the two constituencies, namely Sammy Wakiaga (Mbita) and Dalmas Otieno (Rongo) as those who have not joined the rest in campaigning for Raila Odinga and that the two were serving outsiders interest.

But the audience in Luo-land have now become used to this kind of malicious propaganda. It was even sad for the Alego Usonga Mp Sammy Weya to accuse Mr.Wakiaga publicly of being a mole of the Narc government and yet Hon Weya himself is standing in a very awkward position in his own Alego Usonga constituency, where he is facing the stiffest opposition.

Political pundits were quick in advising Raila Odinga to take an early lead in disassociating himself from this kind of cheap propaganda by his parliamentary colleagues who have failed to deliver the goods to the electorate and were now using his name as scapegoat for their failures.

At Ranen rally, T.J Kajwang (aspirant for Kasarani) requested the crowd to allow Ayacko to go and campaign for Raila in North Eastern and promise to give him (Ayacko) block vote in Rongo. He said that Ayacko’s opponents are Narc-K moles and this smear is invented specifically to scandalize new aspirants simply for the purpose of achieving cheap political mileage (Note T.J Kajwang is also new aspirant in Kasarani.)

Observers and local pundits alike see a major fallout within the ODM in Luo land in the event of the outgoing Luo MPs trying to implement their heinous and criminal tactics to lock out any popular aspirants and deny them the ODM ticket. This could result in the Nyanza elections being fought on personality cult, an event which could interfere with “Agwambo’s” bid for the presidency, as this could result in his votes in the home turf being cut into half when the community rebels against the outgoing MPs.

The whole phenomenon is tantamount to politics of miscalculation and underestimation of the intelligence of members of the Luo community. The situation on the ground in Luo Nyanza is that Raila’s support is 100% but as his colleagues go round making incoherent utterances depicting their opponents at the local constituencies as agents of outsiders, the man to man ‘Agwambos’ support could evaporate into thin air.

The constituents in all the 21 constituencies are yearning for a change and if the ODM party is for a change, then the party operatives in the region, particularly the MPs, should desist from plotting against new aspirants because some of them are very popular on the ground .That is the way forward for Agwambo’s campaign.

At Ranen, violence erupted and one youth had his teeth knocked out .The youth is believed to be a supporter of Mr.Dalmas Otieno. Ayacko hired political goons attacked him.

Ends
Leoodearomolo@yahoo.com