Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City

THE just concluded ODM primary in many parts of Luo-Nyanza was a sham reflecting a political movement in crisis with its members.

It has since sparked off discontent and complaints which the party supreme at the headquarters should move with the snake speed and have the anomalies rectified before the March 4, 2013.

The primaries were marred by acts of hooliganism and political thuggery of the highest order. The marauding goons moving in groups of between 30 or more made it sure that no credible primary nomination took place.

The outgoing MPs from the region stand lamed for the lawlessness and criminal activities meted out by their supporters to the genuine voters who had turned out in their thousands ready to caste their votes and chose leaders who would take the community to the next level of development.

The voters in several parliamentary constituencies were in actual sense de-franchised and denied their rights of voting.

In the newly created Kabondo-Kasipul constituency in Rachuonyo South district, the ballot papers and other election material arrived late close to noon hour. But some of the aspirants, particularly the populist Hebert Ojwang’ had his name missing from the ballot papers.

In the neighboring Kasipul about 50 goons raided a polling station near Agoro-Sare High School within Oyugis Town and seized all the election materials. The goons sent the presiding officer and his entire team of election clerks fleeing for their dear lives.

Another bunch of hired political goons invaded five polling station in Kachien location, destroyed ballot papers and other election materials forcing the stations to be closed prematurely, though the election material had arrived late from Nairobi. Despite of high provocation, the voters persevered and continue voting into the late hours of darkness, but only for the goons to return again , ransacking the polling station n seized ballot boxes and destroyed them.

In Homa-Bay Town a presiding officer by the name Mulei was ambushed at 4.a.m and beaten senseless and left for the dead by un known goons.AS A RESULT BALLOT BOXES AND VOTING Election materials meant for for the neighboring constituencies of Mbita, Gwassi, Ndhiwa, Homa-Bay Town, Rangwe and other places were displaced like Mbita, Ndhiwa, Gwassi .Homa-Bay Town, Rangwe and other places went missing. The region was later become awash with rumours of ballot papers being recovered mysterious at places like Kodiera, Mbita Junction .

Election materials which arrived in Mbita Town were found to be inadequate. However, the aspirants jointly reached a consensus after consultation to produce duplicates of the few ballot papers that had arrived late in the evening on the first day of the nomination. All the ballot papers and election material were kept at Mbita Town offices of the ODM. But the next morning the office was found to have been broken and all the material missing either destroyed with no trace.

The same goons are said to have set a blaze dozens of ballot boxes containing ballot papers in Ndhiwa Town not far away from the local |D.C’s office and got away scot-free with this heinous crime. The song was the same in Awendo and Rongo constituencies as well as in the neighboring Uriri, In all those places no voting took place on the first day. The reason being non-arrival of the elections materials and the election official having failed to turn up in time to serve the electorate.

Thousand of the would be enthusiastic voters who turned out in their thousands went home disappointed after waiting for the whole day with no election material on sight. The situation became so pathetic and the disillusioned and frustrated voters walked home.

From the looking of things it appeared as if all the outgoing MPs in Luo-Nyanza had conspired secretly with some top officials of the ODM at the Orange house, Nairobi and hatched a secret plan so the frustrated the outgoing MPs could maintain their status quo.

These anomalies were experiences in Siaya, Migori and all other places. In Siaya a vehicle packed with crude weapons were intercepted by police and close to 32 occupants nabbed.

IN Nyakach voting did not take place in five sub-location with over 3,000 registered voters, though the returning officer a Mr Okoth defiantly announced the result in favor of one of the aspirants. Similar incidents were evidence everywhere.

In some places even police and members of the Provincial administration appeared to have been compromised. They became toothless bulldogs and made no effort to prevent crime or any act which fueled violence in the polling stations.

What emerged was that political parties are not capable of organizing successful and credible nomination exercises in this country and the sooner political parties deliberated on this issue and found a solution the better.

The abrasive Raila Odinga’s cousin Jakoyo Midiwo of Gem was one of the leading casualities and so was the Prime Minister own elder brother Dr. Oburu Ogings the Finance Assistant Minister whose bid to become the first governor of Siaya suffered the heaviest blow.

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Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Migori Town

The on going electioneering campaign by people who are vying for various elective position in ODM tickets had become the sources of discontent in many parts of Luo-Nyanza with aspirants vying for the various elective positions within Migori County have accused Dalmas Otieno the Minister for Public Service of gross interference in what could otherwise be a smooth and peaceful elections campaigns in the region ahead of next week’s ODM nomination exercise.

Earlier this week Minister Otieno ‘s convoy of several sleek campaign vehicles had come under halls of stones, a clear indication that things are not moving smoothly in favor of the Minister who is also the incumbent Rongo MP, and who is defending his parliamentary seat.

The Minister was driving back to his Rongo rural home after addressing a series of campaign rallies at Kamgundho, Cham-Gi-Wadu when rowdy and drunken youths hurled stones to his motorcade.

The symptoms that the Minister is not all that a comfortable man even at his family level is the fact that his elder son Jared Oteno aged 46 is among the aspirants who have signed a statement requesting the ODM headquarters at the Orange House to instill some amount of discipline to the Minister.

The aspirants want the ODM to stop his plan of dishing out nominations certificates to certain preferred candidates a head of the ODM nomination exercise schedule for January 17, 2013.

The protest by ODM aspirants came about after Dalmas Otieno had released a press statement detailing how all elective positions will be dished out in Miori County. The statement has it that the position of Miogori governor would go to Prof. Edward Akong’o Oyugi, while the deputy governor positions will go to Zachary Okoth Obado, and the Senator seat will go to Dr Walter Machage the current MP for Kuria.

The aspirants have said that Dalmas Oteno ha no constitutional mandate of giving direct nomination to any aspirants and they insisted that all the aspirants irrespective of their status within the society should be subjected to open, fair and just nomination. They termed Dalmas Otieno’s action “dictatorial and mockery to the democratic principles.

The Minister’s own son Jared Otieno is among those contesting for the Migori governor seat and he is in a different and parallel election campaign camp.Jared Otieno launched his campaign last Sunday with pop and pageantry in Migori town.

He has since been tearing into his father’s private life and questioning the Minister’s integrity as a leader. While the Minister is reported to have disowned his son in private, but never uttered any tired vitriols against his son publicly, and the campaign by the two against each other is drawing a lot of interests in the region and could weaken the ODM voting strength unless the party acted with speed and have the sanity restored.

The Senate seat has also attracted the former Mathare MP Ochieng’Mbeo who has twice served as a member of the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha, John Magaiwa,the ODM Migori County branch chairman,Prof. Chacha Nyaigoti. One of the aspirants who got disgusted Phrares Oluoch Kanindo a one time two terms MP for the large Homa-Bay constituency has since pulled out in anger and declared that he would contest the Senate seat as an independent candidate.

Many other aspirants on ODM tickets in Migori County said they would consider ditching the party unless Dalmas Otieno is disciplined by the ODM head office.They are arguing that the Minister is contradicting the party’s declared policy that nobody would be given a direct nomination,a stand which the Prime Minister RailaOdinga has persistently reiterated many times make it quite clear that no such a thing will happen and that all must go to the ballot boxes to determine the winner.

The protest note was signed by one Paul Abuor who is perceived to be a Dalmas Otieno’s protégé and who is an aspirant in Rongo parliamentary seatand Jared OtIeno the Minister’s own sons.

The stoning of the Minister’s vehicles came in the wake and after only a week after another aspirant for the governor position Mrs Anne Omodho Anyanga had her cart windscreen smashed by rowdy youths suspected to be supporters of Dalmas Oteno I Rongo Town. The youth roughed up Mrs Anyanganga who is the wife of the Nyatike MP Edick Omondi Anyanga,who has mounted the most elaborate campaign using a hired chopper.

Mrs Anyanga, who was traversing the entire Rongo constituency, had landed at Rongo Primary School, which is allocated inside main Rongo market.

Market and a crowd rushed to the scene where she was addressing a huge crowd which had formed itself instantly at the places .
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The youth were shouting “Gonywa Gonywa” and menacingly demanding that she give the money, but sensing the danger of her persona l safety Mrs Anyanga jumped into her vehicle which drove to the Choper.The chopper took off amid hails of stones thrown to it in the air by the youth.

Looking shaken Mrs Anyanga flew out of Rongo and landed in some other places within the constituency like Opapo, Ranen, Kodero Bara, BUT SCATHINGLY CONDEMNED THE INCIDENT , WHICH SHE SAW AS AN ATTEMPT TO DISCRIMINATE THE GENDER AND WOMEN FROM CONTESTING PUBLIC OFFICES.

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Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Awendo Town.

ODM LEADERSHIP IN Migori County have come out in full force and severely criticized those who hatched the heinous criminal attack on one of the aspirants aspiring for the powerful position of Migori County governor.

Mrs Anne Omonndi Anyanga who is vying for the position of Migori County governor was attacked in Rongo Town by rowdy youth suspected to be supporters of the Public Service Dalmas Otieno, who is also the incumbent Rongo MP.

The goons tore into pieces the T-Shirts bearing her portrait, which she had just been distributing to the electorate for free. THey demanded that she give them the money, shouting “Gonywa Gonywa”.

Sensing the danger of her personal safety Mrs Anyanga dashed to her waiting car, which drover her to safety amid hails of stones, one of which hit her car front windscreen.

Mr Omomndi Anyanga, who is the wife of Nyatatike MP Edick while on her campaign trail flew into Rongo Town and landed at the nearby Rongo Primary School which is located in the middle of the Town.

Her arrival had coincided with another political function which was taking place at the nearby Kuja School of the Deaf and Blind.On seeing the Chopper huge crowd of people who were attending the function, in which the area MP was launching his campaign in defense of his Rongo seat surged forward and dashed towards Mrs Anyanga’s Chopper.The crowd abandoned Dalmas Oteno’s meeting and went to the venue where the Chopper had landed.

Some of the rowdy youth looked excessively intoxicated with chang’aa and menacingly demanded that Mrs Anyanga give them the money.

Looking disappointed Mrs Anyanga condemned political thuggery saying some people appeared to be hell-bent on intimidating her. She asked his rivals to respect democracy and gender.She defiantly flew to other places like Opapo. Kodero Bara, Rakwaro and Raneni and continued with her campaign.

It was learnt immediately that the eldest son of the Public Service Minister Dalmas Otieno Fred Otieno was also simultaneously launching his campaign for the same position of Migori governor at a different function held in Migori Town.

Mrs Anyanga has been traversing the entire Migori County in the last two weeks using rented helicopter, which has taken her to many places inlcuding the two Kuria district of Kuria East and Kuria west, Nyatike, Uriri ,Rongo and Awendo while conducting roadside shows and public rallies.

SHe is facing one of the ODM’s stalwart Prof. Edqward Oyugi Akong’owho is perceived to be Raila Odinga’s closest friends and political adviser for the same seat. Prof Akong’Oyugi launched his campaign in Migori town last week, but it attracted only a paltry crowd.

Other candidates included the ODM’s stalwart Prof. Edward Akong’o Oyugi, who is perceived to be a close friend of the Prime Minister Raila Odinga and political advisor. The Prof. Oyugi was among the radical politicians who were detained for many years by the former Moi’s Nyayo regime for radical political activities.

Prof Oyugi who hails from Suna West launched his campaign officially last week in Migori town, but the function attracted only a paltry crowd. Other aspirants included the Kenya Sugar Board Awendo zonal director Zachary Okoth Obado who hails from North Kanyamkago in Urirri district who appeared to be the darling for the majority of sugar cane farmers in the region.

Also in the race is the youthful senior manager with the Airtail in Nairobi Mark Nyamita who hails from Central Kanyamkago in Uriri district whose candidature appeared to have attracted many youths.

However, Mrs Anyanga who is a business woman in Nairobi seemed to be the strongest and serious contender and someone to watch.

The late entry of Dalmas Otieno’s son Fred Otieno for the same position is likely not to alter anything significantly among the gains already secured by both who have been on the ground longer than one year.

Rumor making the round within Awendo and Migori as well as in Rongo is that Fred Otieno is not enjoying the political goodwill and patronage of his father Dalmas Otienm and as such his candidature is expected to make very little impact

Mrs Anyanga therefore stands the better chance of clinching the Migori governor steas, because she is the only aspirant from the votes-rich Nytatike constituency, whereas the majority of aspirants are people from Urirri and Migori constituencies.

Among those politicians who strongly condemned the attack on Mrs Anyanga is Eng.Phillip Odero Makabong’o who is contesting the Rongo parliamentary seat against Dalmas Otieno.Makabong’o appealed to the ODM headquarters to instill the highest standard of discipline including disqualification of those candidates found to be promoting war-mongering and political thuggery. He condemned the use of political goons to intimidate opponents by some politicians in the areas.

Dalmas OItieno could not be reached for his immediate comments about the attack on Mrs Anyanga by goons suspected to be his supporters in Rongo town.

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